The M1 Abrams was the most radical departure in US tank design since World War II. Until the advent of the M1 in the early 1980s, the US Army had relied on the steady evolution of the M26 Pershing tank, through the M46, M47, M48 and M60. The M1 design came at a time when there were a host of important new tank technologies coming to fruition, in terms of structure and weaponry: these were integrated into it. This book details the design, development and operational use of one of the world's best main battle tanks.

As World War II entered its later stages and Germany was forced increasingly onto the defensive, the need for fast-moving mobile forces lessened and the Wehrmacht required better protected and more powerfully armed tanks. After debacles against the T-34, Hitler and the Panzerwaffe were determined not to be unprepared again. The result of this determination was the production of the heaviest and largest tank to see combat during World War II, the Tiger II or Konigstiger (Kingtiger). This title examines this formidable weapon, covering the problems and controversies surrounding its design and production as well as a detailed listing of every unit that was equipped with the Tiger II.

Kenneth J. Hagan pulls the curtain back for American civilians as he shares a sweeping account of the country's naval experience. Including the wooden Continental Navy to contemporary projections of the service's high-tech mission in the next century, The People's Navy shares the complete making and growth of America's sea power. "...provides a clear, interesting, and through-provoking introduction to the history of the American sea power and should be read by all historians of the United States... This book will provide standard interpretation for a long time to come." - Reviews in American History

The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare is not only a historical study of mankind's most time-honored enterprise--war--but an excellent way to understand the potentiality of modern weapons, techniques, and technologies, and to realistically forecast how they will be applied in future wars. In this absorbing chronicle of the art of war, Colonel Dupuy examines the relationship between weapons and strategy--on land, on sea, and in the air--and discusses the eighteen major advances in weapons lethality, from the Macedonian sarissa (the long pike used by the armies of Alexander the Great) to the atomic bomb. Dupuy emphasizes two major paradoxes: although weapons have become increasingly deadly, battle casualty rates have just as steadily declined; and despite tremendous technological changes in warfare, the fundamental principles of war have changed little. But this book not only deals with ideas and technological advances, it confronts the drama and horror of battle. Far more than a textbook summary, it is an engrossing account of the development and use of the most significant weapons human ingenuity has been able to devise, and an acute commentary on the essence of warfare.

"Defense against nuclear attack-so natural and seemingly so compelling a goal-has provoked debate for at least twenty years. Ballistic missle defense systems, formerly called antiballistic missile systems, offer the prospect of remedying both superpowers' alarming vulnerability to nuclear weapons by technological rather than political means. But whether ballistic missile defenses can be made to work and whether it is wise to build them remain controversial. The U.S.-Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 restricts testing and deployment of ballistic missile defenses but has not prohibited more than a decade of research and development on both sides. As exotic new proposals are put forward for space-based directed-energy systems, questions about the effectiveness and wisdom of missile defense have again become central to the national debate on defense policy. This study, jointly sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the strategic, technological, and political issues raised by ballistic missile defense. Eight contributors take an analytical approach to their areas of expertise, which include the relationship of missile defense to nuclear strategy, the nature and potential applications of current and future technologies, the views on missile defense in the Soviet Union and among the smaller nuclear powers, the meaning of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty for today's technology, and the present role and historical legacy of ballistic missile defense in the context of East-West relations. The volume editors give a comprehensive introduction to this wide range of subjects and an assessment of future prospects. In the final chapter, nine knowledgeable observers offer their varied personal views on the ballistic missile defense question. "

The Restoration of 1660 is often quoted as the birth date of our modern British Army. While this may be true as far as continuity of unit identity is concerned, the evidence of history shows that the creation of an efficient military machine, and its proving on the battlefield, predates the Restoration by 15 years. It was on the battlefields of the Civil War that the foundations of the British professional army were laid. Here, supported by a wide variety of photographs and eight full colour plates, Stuart Asquith details the history, organisation, weapons and equipment of the New Model Army.

Designed by a motorcycle racer turned small-arms engineer, George Patchett, the submachine gun that eventually became known as the Sterling was developed during World War II. Some suggest it first saw action during Operation Infatuate with No. 4 Commando, before becoming fully adopted by the British Army in 1953 as the Sterling Machine Carbine (L2A1).

It was centre stage for many of Britain's post-colonial conflicts from Malaya to Kenya and from Yemen to Northern Ireland. The silenced L34A1 Sterling-Patchett entered service in 1966 and first saw action deep in the jungles of Vietnam in the hands of the elite special forces of Australia, New Zealand and the United States during prisoner snatches and reconnaissance patrols.

Employing first-hand accounts and painstaking technical analysis, this engaging account features carefully selected archive photography and specially commissioned colour artwork depicting the submachine gun that armed British and other forces for nearly 60 years.

On a September day in 1920, an angry Italian anarchist named Mario Buda exploded a horse-drawn wagon filled with dynamite and iron scrap near New York's Wall Street, killing 40 people. Since Buda's prototype the car bomb has evolved into a "poor man's air force," a generic weapon of mass destruction that now craters cities from Bombay to Oklahoma City. In this provocative history, Mike Davis traces the its worldwide use and development, in the process exposing the role of state intelligence agencies-particularly those of the United States, Israel, India, and Pakistan-in globalizing urban terrorist techniques. Davis argues that it is the incessant impact of car bombs, rather than the more apocalyptic threats of nuclear or bio-terrorism, that is changing cities and urban lifestyles, as privileged centers of power increasingly surround themselves with "rings of steel" against a weapon that nevertheless seems impossible to defeat.

A History of Artillery traces the development of artillery through the ages, providing a thorough study of these weapons. From its earliest recorded use in battle over a millennium ago, up to the recent Gulf War, Balkan, and Afghanistan conflicts, artillery has often been the deciding factor in battle. Black shows that artillery sits within the general history of a war as a means that varied greatly between armies and navies, and also across time.

The Russian T-72 Ural tank is the most widely-deployed main battle tank of the current generation. Used by the armies of the former Warsaw pact and Soviet Union, it has also been exported in large numbers to many of the states in the Middle East. This book reveals the previously secret history behind the tank. Steven J Zaloga examines the conditions under which the T-72 was designed and produced. Technical aspects of the weapon are also discussed, including its EDZ reactive armour which, when it first appeared in December 1984, gave NATO a nasty shock.

Battlefield Forensics for Persian Gulf States provides an illustrative reference of various weapons, toolmarks, headstamps, and other traits in order to identify the origins of a variety of guns, casings, and ammunition that can be found in the Middle East. Various conflicts in the region have led to innumerable weapons being used throughout the years. The lead author, Don Mikko, has investigated and examined firearms related items of evidence in countless crime scenes throughout the world. As the Chief of the Firearms Branch at the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL), Fort Gillem, Georgia, he recruited, trained, and competency tested military contractors deploying to various combat related areas of the world, those providing forensic firearm and toolmark identification support to local commanders. What was learned was that various foreign weapons and ammunition were being utilized in conflicts and by opposing forces. This book educates readers on the technical data for different types of firearms, ammunition, countries of origin, proof marks, penetrator information and the typical firearm markings imparted on fired cartridge cases, such as breech-face, firing pin, ejector, and extractor markings. Forensics and biometrics within the Persian Gulf have been leveraged since the early 1990s and many of the firearms and types of ammunition covered in this handbook are addressed in an effort to assist those on the ground who are required to be able to identify such items in various scenarios. The information contained within the book has proven to be effective on the battlefield and has helped shape combat operations. This handbook will serve as a useful reference not only to assist military and contractor personnel within the various combat locations but will also prove to be beneficial for law-enforcement, crime laboratory personnel, forensic firearm and toolmark examiners, crime scene investigators, students, practitioners, and civilian personnel throughout the world.

'War is a duel written large.' How did we get from clubs and spears to machine guns and drone missiles? What led to the human race firing projectiles across a no-man's-land, from straightforward warfare to spies and insurgency? Here renowned military historian Martin van Creveld has compiled a concise guide to the history of war in 100 key events, from 10,000 BCE to the present day: Stone Age 'wars'; Vikings raids; medieval conflicts; revolutionary wars; Napoleonic wars; world wars; the Iraq war; women in war and much more. With intriguing facts and a worldwide range, War in 100 Events is an immensely entertaining volume for military buffs and laymen alike.

"What happens if we bet too heavily on unmanned systems, cyber warfare, and special operations in our defense? In today's U.S. defense policy debates, big land wars are out. Drones, cyber weapons, special forces, and space weapons are in. Accordingly, Pentagon budget cuts have honed in on the army and ground forces: this, after the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, seems like an appealing idea. No one really wants American boots on the ground in bloody conflicts abroad. But it is not so easy to simply declare an end to messy land wars. A survey of the world's trouble spots suggests that land warfare has more of a future than many now seem to believe. In The Future of Land Warfare, Michael O'Hanlon offers an analysis of the future of the world's ground forces: Where are large-scale conflicts or other catastrophes most plausible? Which of these could be important enough to require the option of a U.S. military response? And which of these could in turn demand significant numbers of American ground forces in their resolution? O'Hanlon is not predicting or advocating big American roles in such operations-only cautioning against overconfidence that we can and will avoid them. O'Hanlon considers a number of illustrative scenarios in which large conventional forces may be necessary: discouraging Russia from even contemplating attacks against the Baltic states; discouraging China from considering an unfriendly future role on the Korean peninsula; handling an asymmetric threat in the South China Sea with the construction and protection of a number of bases in the Philippines and elsewhere; managing the aftermath of a major and complex humanitarian disaster superimposed on a security crisis-perhaps in South Asia; coping with a severe Ebola outbreak not in the small states of West Africa but in Nigeria, at the same time that country falls further into violence; addressing a further meltdown in security conditions in Central America. "

Warrior Geeks examines how technology is transforming the way we think about and fight war, taking three major changes that are driving this process: cybernetic technologies that are folding soldiers into a cybernetic system that will allow the military to read their thoughts and emotions and mould them accordingly; the coexistence of men and robots in the battle-spaces of tomorrow; and the extent to which we may be able to re-engineer warriors through pharmacological manipulation. By referring back to the Greeks who defined the contours of war for us, Coker shows how we are in danger of losing touch with our humanity - the name we give not only to a species but the virtues we deem it to embody. The journey from Greeks to Geeks may be a painful one. War can only be rendered more humane if we stay in touch with the ancestors, yet unfortunately we are planning to subcontract our ethical choices to machines. In revaluing technology, are we devaluing our humanity, or the post-human condition, changing our subjectivity and thus the existential dimension of war by changing our relationship with technology both functionally and performatively?

Patented in 1898 and produced from 1900, Georg Luger's iconic semi-automatic pistol became synonymous with Germany's armed forces throughout both world wars.

Initially chambered for the 7.65×21mm round, from 1902 the Luger was designed for DWM's 9×19mm round, which even today remains the most popular military handgun cartridge. It was adopted by the Imperial German Navy in 1904, followed by the German Army in 1908, receiving the name Pistole 08. Despite being supplanted by the Walther P38, the Luger remained in widespread service with all arms of Nazi Germany's armed forces throughout World War II, and even equipped East Germany's Volkpolizei in the years after 1945.

Featuring full-colour artwork, expert analysis and archive and present-day photographs, this engaging study tells the story of the Luger, the distinctive and deadly semi-automatic pistol that has come to symbolize Germany's armed forces in the 20th century.

An in-depth account of Hitler's V-Weapons, the devastation they caused, and the massive Allied countermeasures taken to destroy them

Whether in international military interventions or routine policing activities the use of force raises a host of questions about appropriateness, necessity and proportionality. Recently attention has focused on the possibility of so-called "non-lethal" weapons to provide greater legitimacy to the use of force by minimizing injury.
Acoustic weapons that shatter windows and cause internal damage, electromagnetic pulse beams designed to knock individuals down and cause seizures, and chemical agents that act as calmatives are all envisioned.
This study describes the current "state of the art" weapons and focuses on their justifications through a combination of insights from security and peace studies, criminology, and science and technology studies.
This publication should be of interest to anyone concerned about past and future development of force and the operation of risky technologies. Police and military practitioners, members of non-governmental organizations and students of technology studies, criminology, science policy, security studies, risk and social movements should find this book of interest.

When the UN called for the end of the British mandate and the partition of Palestine into two independent states, the RAF found itself under attack from both sides. Tracing the development of hostilities in the Middle East, this book covers the period from the establishment of the first proper Israeli Air Force in 1948 to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel's War of Independence against its Arab neighbours, the inevitable 'round two', the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, the Yom Kippur wars of 1973 and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 are all detailed in this fascinating chronicle of war in the Middle East.

Although initially equiped with very poor aircraft and robbed of effective leadership, due as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MIG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and Yak-1/3. The later Yaks and Lavochkins were easily superior to the Bf 109 and Fw 190 at low-level, the favoured "killing field" of pilots like Khozedub and Poryshkin, both of whom finished with higher scores than the leading pilots of the West. This volume aims to dispel many of the myths about combat on the Eastern Front.

These vigorous northern 'barbarians' were the destroyers of the Western Empire of Rome. It was they who delivered the coup de grace to the dying colossus in the south, subsequently creating medieval Europe, the feudal system and chivalry. Their direct descendants were the knights and men-at-arms. In every sense, they were the creators of the modern world; it is ironic that many people know virtually nothing about them. This book explores the history, weapons and dress of the Germanics and Dacians who fought Rome two thousand years before our time.

One man's truth. A nation's downfall.Speedbird 117, a Boeing 787 flight to New York, takes off like any other flight from Heathrow. Except this plane will never reach its destination. The cause? Taher, an utterly ruthless terrorist with a score to settle. With the country's Secret Service on red alert, senior analyst Stephen Holm is given an ultimatum: find Taher, confiscate his devastating surface-to-air missiles and bring him to justice, or witness his nation's descent into disaster. Rebecca da Silva, meanwhile, accepts a seemingly routine job in the Philippines for a wealthy businessman. Little does she know that this will set a course in motion that she is unable to stop, a course that leads, inevitably, to Taher. With time running out, Holm and da Silva must work together: failure is not an option. An absolutely scintillating thriller from bestseller Mark Sennen, perfect for fans of James Deegan, Mark Greaney and James Swallow. Praise for Rogue Target 'One of the best spy thrillers I've read in a long time ... literally unputdownable' Nick Oldham, author of the Henry Christie thrillers 'A brilliantly executed, addictive read, and one that hits the bullseye straight smack bang in the middle as to what to expect from a great modern-day spy thriller. I was hooked from the first page' A. A. Chaudhuri, author of The Scribe 'A cracking thriller that had me turning the pages at full tilt' Jason Dean, author of the James Bishop thrillers

The M16 rifle is one of the world's most famous firearms, iconic as the American weapon of the Vietnam War - and, indeed, as the U.S. military's standard service rifle until only a few years ago. But the story of the M16 in Vietnam is anything but a success story. In the early years of the war, the U.S. military had a problem: its primary infantry rifle, the M14, couldn't stand up to the enemy's AK-47s. The search was on for a replacement that was lighter weight, more durable, and more lethal than the M14. After tests (some of which the new rifle had failed) and debates (more than a few rooted in the army brass's resistance to change), Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the adoption of the M16, which was rushed through production and rushed to Vietnam, reaching troops' hands in early 1965. Problems appeared immediately. Soldiers were not adequately trained to maintain the new rifle - billed as self-cleaning--nor were they given cleaning supplies or instructions. The jungle humidity corroded the rifle's inner components (the manufacturer had decided against chrome-plating); the cheap gunpowder in the rounds fouled the chamber. The M16 often failed to eject spent cartridges, often jammed, making the rifle "about as effective as a muzzleloader," in the words of one officer. Men began to be killed in combat because they couldn't return fire or because they had paused to fix their rifles. Congress investigated, and the rifle and its ammunition were modified, greatly improving its reliability by 1967-68. But the damage to its reputation had been done, and many soldiers remained deeply skeptical of their rifle through the war's end. Misfire combines insider knowledge of U.S. Army weapons development with firsthand combat experience in Vietnam to tell the story of the M16 in Vietnam. Even as it details the behind-the-scenes development, tests, and debates that brought this rifle into service, the book also describes men and M16s in action on the battlefield, never losing sight of the soldiers who carried M16s in the jungles of Vietnam and all too often suffered the consequences of decisions they had nothing to do with.