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Showing posts from February, 2008

F-22 Raptor

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[4] Air Marshal Angus Houston, chief of the Australian Defence Force, and former head of the Royal Australian Air Force, said in 2004 that the "F-22 will be the most outstanding fighter plane ever built. The United States Air Force considers the F-22 a critical component of the US strike force. [4] Faced with a protracted development period, the aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 during the three years before formally entering US Air Force service in December 2005, as the F-22A. The US Air Force claims that the F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft. The F-22 Raptor is an American fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Along with Lockheed Martin, partner Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and all of the pilot and maintenance tra

.44 Magnum

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[2] A .44 Magnum revolver or rifle will accept both .44 Magnum and .44 Special ammunition, but a weapon designed for .44 Special will only accept the Special, due to the longer overall length of a .44 Magnum cartridge. The .44 Magnum is a large-bore, dual-purpose cartridge designed for revolvers; Despite the ".44" designation, all guns chambered for .44 Magnum and its parent use bullets .429in (10.9mm) in diameter. however it is also used in many rifles as well. It was developed in the mid-1950s by lengthening the .44 Special cartridge. At the time the selection of .44 caliber projectiles for handloaders was better, and the .44 Special case was smaller in diameter than the .45 Colt case-in revolvers of the same size, this meant the .44 caliber revolvers had thicker, and therefore stronger, cylinder walls than the .45. [3] Elmer Keith settled on the .44 Special cartridge as the basis for his experimentation, rather than the larger .45 Colt. [5] The .44 Magnum case is slightly

M40A3 "Sniper Rifle"

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Each firearm begins life as a Remington 700, and is then extensively modified by hand by USMC 2112/gunsmiths at Marine Corps Base Quantico, using components from a number of suppliers. The original M40 was a military type-classified version of the Remington 700; It has had three variants - the M40, the M40A1 and the M40A3. The M40 was introduced in 1966. The M40 is a bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. New M40A3s are being built, and A1s are upgraded to A3s as they rotate into the armory for service and repair. The M40A1 and A3 switched to fiberglass, with new scopes added as well. The rifles have had many sub-variations in telescopic sights, and smaller user modifications. The A3 model costs $3,200. The changeover to the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, and the A3 in the 2000s. Action - The M40 has always been based on the proven Remington 700 Short Action (as opposed to the Long Action in the M24), and this is no different in the M40A3. The action is

Gatling gun

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Similar systems are available ranging from 5.56 mm to 30 mm (there was even a 37 mm Gatling on the prototype T249 'Vigilante' AA platform); During the Vietnam War, the 7.62 mm calibre M134 Minigun was created as a helicopter weapon. The M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon is the most commonly-used member of a family of weapons designed by General Electric and currently manufactured by General Dynamics. In contrast, a five-barreled Gatling gun-style weapon firing 2000 rounds fires 400 per barrel, an acceptable rate of fire. One of the main reasons for the resurgence of the Gatling gun-style design is the weapon's tolerance for continuous high rates of fire. After Gatling guns were replaced by lighter, cheaper blowback-style weapons, the approach of using multiple rotating barrels fell into disuse for many decades. However, Gatling gun-style weapons made a return in the 1940-50s, when weapons with very high rate of fire were needed in military aircraft such as the Lockheed AC-130 gunship

M1 Abrams

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Three main versions of the M1 Abrams have been deployed, the M1, M1A1, and M1A2, incorporating improved armament, protection and electronics. service in 1980, replacing the M60 Patton and M48A5. The M1 Abrams is a military tank produced in the United States. The M1 Abrams entered U.S. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and commander of the 37th Armored Regiment. Notable features of the M1 Abrams include the use of a powerful gas turbine engine, the adoption of sophisticated composite armor, and separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment for crew safety. It did, however, serve for over a decade alongside the improved M60A3, which had entered service in 1978. These improvements, as well as periodic upgrades to older tanks have allowed this long-serving vehicle to remain in front-line service. It is a main battle tank, the well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile offensive mainstay of modern armored ground warfare. It is the princip

Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen'

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Tracing its roots to Manfred Freiherr von Richthfen and his famous 'Flying Circus' of World War 1, the Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen' is arguably the most famous fighter unit of all time. Designated JG 1 during the Great War, when disbanded following Germany's defeat, the Jagdgeschwader reformed as JG 132 in 1935 with Arado and Heinkel biplanes. By September 1939 the unit had become JG2, and it went on to see much action during Blitzkrieg in Wester Europe and the Battle of Britain wich followed. Technorati : Jagdgeschwader 2 , Richthofen