Sunday, July 26, 2009

Aerolight



The Aerolight UAV is a close range and training UAV platform developed and manufactured by Aeronautics Defense Systems. It is used for close range ISR missions, training, and testing of experimental payloads. InAddition to a conventional wheeled Take Off & Landing capabilities, The system can be launched by a catapult and can be recovered by a precision Para-foil recovery system. The system is in use by the Israeli AirForce, the US Navy and additional customers worldwide.

Advanced Avionics package
State of the art Payloads: Hight resolution Color CCD Stabilized Payload Night Sensor (optional)
Advanced Data Link system
Accurate Navigation capability: GPS + Inertial Navigation System (INS) Real Time Video and Telemetry data transmission
Extremely low accoustic signature - Silent operation

Bardehlas Tank


The oldest of the IDF APCs is the M-113, it was developed and manufactured in the United States in the 60s, and its purpose was to bring troops to and from battle- returning them efficiently, and protecting them. Its official IDF name is the “Bardelas” but soldiers call it the M-113 or “Zelda” (named after an armor addition) or simply “The APC”. They first arrived in Israel in 1972, although most APCs of this type were acquired through American aid in the Yom Kippur War. The M-113 was intended to replace the antiquated armored vehicles which the IDF was using at the time, which were partly exposed, and were an easy target for hostile fire. The M-113 has many advantages. Among them: excellent maneuvering capabilities in difficult terrain, compatibility for air transport, and amphibious capabilities. The IDF M-113 has undergone various upgrades, in order to improve its resistance to hazardous materials, and to protect it from anti-tank fire, IEDs, and machine-gun fire. Among the many special models of the APC is the armored ambulance, a version with additional protection against anti-tank missiles. Changes have been made which enable it to participate in urban warfare, and to keep the peace. The APC serves in almost all of the combat units of the IDF, in virtually all of the action areas, alongside other advanced APCs. As time progresses, the M-113 is slowly leaving the front lines, being replaced by more advanced models, and is joining the reservist units. The M-113 took part in the Yom Kippur War, in Operation Peace for Galilee, in campaigns in Lebanon, and in the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Apart from the M-113, the IDF has various other APCs which are based on tank bodies; heavy APCs.

Merkava Tank


The is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name.
It is optimized for crew survival and rapid repair of battle damage. Through the use of spaced-armor techniques and quick-replacement modular designs, the design team was able to incorporate composite armor, a derivative of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) and Chobham armour. Additionally, the space between the inner and outer hulls is filled with diesel fuel—an economical storage method and a means of defeating HEAT rounds.
Following the model of contemporary self-propelled howitzers, the turret assembly is located nearer the rear than in most main battle tanks. This gives the crew additional protection against a frontal attack by putting the engine between them and the attack. This arrangement also creates more space in the rear of the tank that allows increased storage capacity, as well as a rear entrance to the main crew compartment allowing easy access even under enemy fire. This allows the tank to be used as a platform for medical disembarkation, a forward command and control station, and an armored personnel carrier. The rear entrance's clamshell-style doors provide overhead protection when off- and on-loading cargo and personnel.

White phosphorus


White phosphorus (WP) is a flare- and smoke-producing agent and an incendiary agent that is made from a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus. The main utility of white phosphorus munitions is to create smokescreens to mask movement from the enemy, or to mask his fire. In contrast to other smoke-causing munitions, WP burns quickly causing an instant bank of smoke. As a result of this, WP munitions are very common -- particularly as smoke grenades for infantry; loaded in defensive grenade dischargers on tanks and other armored vehicles; or as part of the ammunition allotment for artillery or mortars.
However, white phosphorus has a secondary effect. While much less efficient than ordinary fragmentation effects in causing casualties, white phosphorus burns quite fiercely and can set cloth, fuel, ammunition and other combustibles on fire. It also can function as an anti-personnel weapon with the compound capable of causing serious burns or death. The agent is used in bombs artillery, and mortars, short-range missiles which burst into burning flakes of phosphorus upon impact. White phosphorus is commonly referred to in military jargon as "WP". The slang term "Willy(ie) Pete" or "Willy(ie) Peter", dating from World War I and common at least through the Vietnam War, is still used by infantry and artillery servicemen to refer to white phosphorus.
White phosphorus weapons are controversial today because of their potential use against civilians. While the Chemical Weapons Convention does not designate WP as a chemical weapon, various groups consider it to be one. In recent years, the United States, Israel, Sri Lanka and Russia have used white phosphorus in combat.
The United States' use of white phosphorus in Iraq in the Iraq War has resulted in considerable controversy among critics of the war. Initial field reports referred to white phosphorus use against insurgents, but its use was officially denied until November 2005, when the Department of Defense admitted to the use of white phosphorus while stating that its use for producing obscuring smoke is legal and does not violate the CWC. A DoD spokesman has also admitted that WP "was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants", though not against civilians

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Tank


A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tacticaloffensive and defensive capabilities. Firepower is normally provided by a large-calibre main gun in a rotating turret and secondary machine guns, while heavy armor and all-terrain mobility provide protection for the tank and its crew, allowing it to perform all primary tasks of the armoured troops on the battlefield
Tanks were first introduced by the British during World War Ias a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare. They were first deployed at the Battle of Somme in limited numbers. During construction, to conceal their true identity as weapons, they were designated as water carriers for the Mesopotamian campaign and referred to as "tanks" (as in "water tank").
Interwar developments in both design and tactics evolved during World War II, producing important concepts of armoured warfare which persist to this day and were prominently displayed during World War II. The Soviet Union introduced the T-34, one of the best tanks in service throughout the war and one of the forerunners to the main battle tank. Germany introduced blitzkrieg, a strategy which makes use of massed concentrations of tanks supported by artillery and air power to break through the enemy front to surround enemy forces and accomplish objectives.

F-15 Eagle


The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. Developed for the United States Air Force, it first flew in July 1972, and is one of the most recognized modern fighters. The F-15 is expected to remain in service until 2025. Despite originally being envisaged as a pure air superiority aircraft, the design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed, and entered service in 1989.

B-52 Stratofortress


The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered, strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1955.
Beginning with the successful contract bid on 5 June 1946, the B-52 went through several design steps; from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52, with eight turbojet engines. The aircraft made its first flight on 15 April 1952 with "Tex" Johnston as pilotBuilt to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. Although a veteran of a number of wars, the Stratofortress has dropped only conventional munitions in actual combat. The B-52 carries up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weaponsThe USAF has had B-52s in active service since 1955, initially with the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with all aircraft later absorbed into the Air Combat Command (ACC) following SAC's disestablishment in 1992. Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept the B-52 in service despite proposals to replace it with the Mach 3 XB-70 Valkyrie, supersonic B-1B Lancer and stealthy B-2 Spirit.