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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment
The MiG-29 Fulcrum is acknowledged as the finest lightweight,
multi-role fighter ever produced in Russia. It was designed to
operate under wartime conditions and fight head-to-head with
Western combat aircraft such as the U.S. F-16 Falcon, F/A-18
Hornet, French Mirage 2000, Rafale, and Swedish JAS-39 Grippen.
Roughly the size of the F/A-18 Hornet, the Mach 2.3 capable Fulcrum
has also demonstrated many extraordinary capabilities and set
several world records, including topping the Lockheed SR-71
Blackbird in altitude. Presently in service with the Russian Air
Force, as well as the air forces of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova,
India, Germany, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Iraq, Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Syria, Poland, Malaysia, Hungary, and Yemen, the MiG-29 has proved
to be a rugged and capable fighter that will continue to be a
factor in future conflicts, both as ally or foe. It is with this in
mind that MiG-29 Flight Manual: Unclassified was created - to
provide a rare and unprecedented glimpse inside a top Russian
aircraft. Using information that only a few years ago was highly
classified, this translated text presents an extraordinary look at
the capabilities and complexities of one of the very best fighters
of the current age.
This Meticulously researched book unearths a sixty year secret. As
the Japanese swept south towards Australia in late 1941, they
carried chemical weapons, already used with deadly effect in China.
Forced to counter the chemical warfare threat, Australia covertly
imported 1,000,000 chemical weapons - including 16 types of mustard
gas - and hid them in tunnels and other sites around the country.
This book tells the story of the importation, storage and 'live
trials' of the deadly weapons. It reveals details of the chemical
warfare agents themselves, Australia's retaliatory plans, the
involvement of the USA, the lack of training of the weapons
handlers and, finally, the dangerous disposal of the volatile
agents. Most of all, this is the story of the men who lived with
the deadly weapons on a daily basis, handling them constantly
despite the immense risks and suffering as a consequence. They were
the Chemical Warfare Armourers and almost every armourer suffered
physically and often mentally from the effects of the weapons and
the terrible burden of maintaining secrecy. This remarkable book
contains over 300 photographs - many taken surreptitiously - that
illustrate all too starkly the conditions and the danger to which
these men were exposed. This is an unprecedented visual history.
This book is published in association with the Army History Unit
and is a volume in the Australian Army History Collection.
Ulrich Krotz's Flying Tiger takes a relatively obscure episode-the
joint Franco-German production of a state-of-the-art and very
expensive military helicopter, the Tiger Helicopter (used in the
James Bond film Goldeneye, incidentally)-to make a groundbreaking
theoretical contribution to international relations scholarship.
The rivalry between Germany and France in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries is of course well known. It was directly or
indirectly responsible for four cataclysmic wars, and until
relatively recently, the idea that these two states could become
close partners seemed implausible. Yet following World War II and
the birth of the European Union, they became the closest of allies.
In fact, they collaborated for three decades on the most
sophisticated weapon that the EU has produced: the Tiger. How did
this occur, and what does this happy albeit unforeseen outcome tell
us about how interstate relations really work? Through the lens of
the Tiger, Krotz draws from two theoretical approaches-social
constructivism and historical institutionalism-to reframe our
understanding of how international relationships evolve.
International relations scholars have always focused on relations
between states, yet have failed to think in any sustained way about
how interstate relationships both remold domestic realities and
derive from them. How does a relationship between states impact
upon a state internally? And how do the internal institutional
dynamics of a state limit such relationships? While International
Relations scholars have touched on these issues, until now no one
has provided a sustained, finely grained, and historically informed
analysis that explains how international relations socially
constructs domestic realities and how in turn domestic politics and
institutions structure interstate relationships. Krotz's account of
how the Tiger project was funded and how the device was built
perfectly illustrates his theoretical claims about the dialectical
relationship of 'high' interstate politics and 'low' domestic
politics. Two famous rivals completely reshaped their relationship
through a complicated, decades-long process in which the nuts and
bolts of domestic politics-approvals for state funding as well as
laws regarding corporations and technology transfer, for
instance-were instrumental in creating a new reality.
An updated edition of ABC-CLIO's classic reference book on nuclear
arms programs and proliferation in nations around the world. Fully
updated and revised since its initial publication, Nuclear Weapons
and Nonproliferation, Second Edition explores all key issues
related to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and efforts to curb
them, from the U.S. atomic bomb project during World War II to
current debates on nuclear terrorism, North Korea's nuclear test,
and Iran's enrichment program. Nuclear Weapons and
Nonproliferation, Second Edition clarifies weapons-related policy
debates from both U.S. and international perspectives, offering a
detailed look at current technologies, arsenals, weapons tests, and
nonproliferation efforts. Readers will find expert analysis of such
crucial recent events as Libya's disarmament, the failed WMD search
in Iraq, A.Q. Khan's nuclear technology black market, "dirty
bombs," developments in North Korea and Iran, and the U.S. plan to
aid India's nuclear program-plus recent progress (or lack thereof)
on a range of treaties and initiatives. Primary documents include
an excerpt from the 1945 U.S. report on the bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, the text of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, and the UN resolution sanctioning North Korea for
its nuclear test A detailed and updated chronology highlights major
events between 1939-2007 pertaining to the buildup of nuclear
weapons and the efforts to control and dismantle them
From the legendary whistle-blower who revealed the Pentagon Papers, the first insider exposé of the terrifying dangers of America's hidden, seventy-year-long nuclear policy.
At the same time former presidential advisor Daniel Ellsberg famously took the Pentagon Papers, he also took with him a cache of top-secret documents related to America's nuclear program in the 1960s. Here for the first time he reveals the contents of those now-declassified documents and makes clear their shocking relevance for today.
The Doomsday Machine is Ellsberg's account of the most dangerous arms build-up in the history of civilisation, whose legacy - and proposed renewal under the Trump administration - threatens the very survival of humanity.
An in-depth history of the time when airpower became the great
equalizer, changing military strategy forever and bringing
once-safe targets in reach. Military Aircraft, 1919-1945: An
Illustrated History of Their Impact covers a crucial era in modern
warfare technology. Ranging from the development of airpower
doctrines in the aftermath of World War I to the aircraft and
missions that put those doctrines into action during World War II,
it provides an expert summing-up of the decades when the use of
aircraft in battle came of age. In chapters covering both the
history of air power and specific types of aircraft (fighters,
bombers, reconnaissance and auxiliary planes), Military Aircraft,
1919-1945 introduces key theorists and designers, describes
important changes in technology and production, and recreates
spectacular episodes from Pearl Harbor to the London Blitz to the
Enola Gay. Readers will see the dramatic impact of the first
generation of modern military aircraft on land and sea. They will
also see how the expansion of war to the skies brought economic
opportunity to some home fronts, and looming terror and devastation
to others. Comparative charts of aircraft production of the major
powers during the interwar years and the Second World War
Approximately 80 photographs and tables of the most important
aircraft of the era, organized by type and by country
The book examines Bernard Brodie's strategic and philosophical
response to the nuclear age, embedding his work within the
classical theories of Carl von Clausewitz. Bernard Brodie
(1910-1978) was a leading 20th century theorist and philosopher of
war. A key architect of American nuclear strategy, Brodie was one
of the first civilian defense intellectuals to cross over into the
military world. "State of Doom" explores Brodie's evolution as a
theorist and his response to the technological innovations that
transformed warfare from WWII to the Vietnam War. It situates his
theoretical development within the classical theories of Carl von
Clausewitz (1780-1831), as Brodie came to be known as "America's
Clausewitz." While his first influential works focused on naval
strategy, his most lasting impact came within the field of nuclear
strategic thinking. Brodie helped conceptualize America's strategy
of deterrence, later taking into account America's loss of nuclear
monopoly, thermonuclear weapons, and intercontinental missiles.
This in-depth exploration of Brodie's strategic and philosophical
response to the nuclear age and of his effort to reconcile
Clausewitz's theories to the new challenges of the nuclear era will
make this book a must read to anyone in strategic studies,
international relations, and philosophy of war.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs), often referred to as
"battlefield," "sub-strategic," or "non-strategic" nuclear weapons,
usually have a plutonium core and are typically distinct from
strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, they warrant a separate
consideration in the realm of nuclear security. The yield of such
weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons
and may range from the relatively low 0.1 kiloton to a few
kilotons. Pakistan's quest to acquire tactical nuclear weapons has
added a dangerous dimension to the already precarious strategic
equation in South Asia. The security discourse in the subcontinent
revolves around the perennial apprehension of a conventional or
sub-conventional conflict triggering a chain reaction, eventually
paving the way for a potential nuclear crisis haunting peace and
stability in the region. Pakistan believes that the successful
testing of the 60-km nuclear-capable short-range missile Hatf-9
(Nasr) "adds deterrence value to Pakistan's strategic weapons
development programme at shorter ranges." In paradox, the fact
remains that this step has further lowered Pakistan's nuclear
threshold through the likely use of TNWs. The introduction of TNWs
into the tactical battle area further exacerbates credibility of
their control. Pakistan has not formally declared a nuclear
doctrine, but it is well known that nuclear weapons are its first
line of defence. The use of TNWs in the India-Pakistan case will
alter the strategic scenario completely as Pakistan would threaten
India with the use of TNWs in the event of New Delhi responding
against Islamabad with a conventional strike in reaction to a
26/11-style terrorist attack. Pakistan forgets that given its
offensive strategic posture and continuing involvement in terror
strikes in India, it is New Delhi which is confronted with the
problem of developing a strategy to counter Pakistan's
"first-strike" and proxy war in the light of its declared
"no-first-use" policy. This edited volume attempts to address and
decipher complex issues, including aspects such as China's WMD
collaboration with Pakistan, nuclear command and control dynamics
within Pakistan, overall rationale and implications of TNWs, safety
and security of nuclear weapons, scenarios for nuclear usage,
India's potential response options and, more specifically, the
technical aspects of the Nasr delivery system.
The book reflects the author's experience across more than forty
years in assessing and forming policy about nuclear weapons, mostly
at senior levels close to the centre both of British governmental
decision-making and of NATO's development of plans and deployments,
with much interaction also with comparable levels of United States
activity in the Pentagon and the State department. Part I of the
book seeks to distill, from this exceptional background of
practical experience, basic conceptual ways of understanding the
revolution brought about by nuclear weapons. It also surveys NATO's
progressive development of thinking about nuclear deterrence, and
then discusses the deep moral dilemmas posed - for all possible
standpoints - by the existence of such weapons. Part II considers
the risks and costs of nuclear-weapon possession, including
proliferation dangers, and looks at both successful and
unsuccessful ideas about how to manage them. Part III illustrates
specific issues by reviewing the history and current policies of
one long-established possessor, the United Kingdom, and two more
recent ones, India and Pakistan. Part IV turns to the future,
examines the goal of eventually abolishing all nuclear armouries,
and then discusses the practical agenda, short of such a goal,
which governments can usefully tackle in reducing the risks of
proliferation and other dangers while not surrendering prematurely
the war-prevention benefits which nuclear weapons have brought
since 1945.
This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the
Changing Character of War.
This title presents new research highlighting the invention of new
weaponry and its front-line combat use. No army went to war in 1914
ready to conduct trench warfare operations. All the armies of the
First World War discovered that prolonged trench warfare required
new types of munitions alongside the conventional howitzers,
large-calibre guns and explosive shells. This volume examines how
the British went about inventing and manufacturing new weaponry
such as hand grenades, rifle grenades and trench mortars when no
body of knowledge about trench warfare munitions existed. It also
examines how tactics were developed for these new munitions. Based
on new research, this is the first book to discuss the complexity
of invention and manufacture of novel weapons such as the Mills
grenade and the Stokes mortar, and to consider the relationship
between technical design and operational tactics on the ground. In
so doing the book presents a different model of the trench warfare
conducted by the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front,
and also provides a blueprint to understanding the relationship
between technology and tactics applicable to all types of weapons
and warfare. "Continuum Studies in Military History" offers
up-to-date, scholarly accounts of war and military history.
Unrestricted by period or geography, the series aims to provide
free-standing works that are attuned to conceptual and
historiographical developments in the field while being based on
original scholarship.
When America declared war on Germany in 1917, the United States had
only 200,000 men under arms, a twentieth of the German army's
strength, and its planes were no match for the Luftwaffe. Less than
a century later, the United States today has by far the world's
largest military budget and provides over 40% of the world's
armaments. In American Arsenal Patrick Coffey examines America's
military transformation from an isolationist state to a world
superpower with a defense budget over $600 billion. Focusing on
sixteen specific developments, Coffey illustrates the unplanned,
often haphazard nature of this transformation, which has been
driven by political, military, technological, and commercial
interests. Beginning with Thomas Edison's work on submarine
technology, American Arsenal moves from World War I to the present
conflicts in the Middle East, covering topics from chemical
weapons, strategic bombing, and the nuclear standoff with the
Soviet Union, to "smart" bombs, hand-held anti-aircraft missiles,
and the Predator and other drone aircrafts. Coffey traces the story
of each advance in weaponry from drawing board to battlefield, and
includes fascinating portraits the men who invented and deployed
them-Robert Oppenheimer, head of the Manhattan Project; Curtis
LeMay, who sent the Enola Gray to drop the atom bomb on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; Herman Kahn, nuclear strategist and model for Stanley
Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove; Abraham Karem, inventor of the Predator
and many others. Coffey also examines the increasingly detached
nature of modern American warfare-the ultimate goal is to remove
soldiers from the battlefield entirely-which limits casualties
(211,454 in Vietnam and only 1,231 in the Gulf War) but also
lessens the political and psychological costs of going to war.
Examining the backstories of every major American weapons
development, American Arsenal is essential reading for anyone
interested in the ongoing evolution of the U.S. defense program.
This unique volume combines the book Tiger I In Combat with a
facsimile of the original German wartime crew manual for the Tiger
tank, the Tigerfibel. This overview draws on a wide variety of
primary source accounts of the Tiger I in action from both the
Allied and the German perspective. Rare photographs, technical
drawings and contemporary reports of the Tiger in combat help to
set aside the myths and bring the reality into focus. General Heinz
Guderian authorised the publication of the Tigerfibel from 1943
onwards. This highly unorthodox publication was full of risqu
drawings and humorous illustrations and was designed to convey
complex battlefield instructions in a simple and memorable manner.
The manual contains everything the reader could ever wish to know
concerning how the crews were instructed to handle the Tiger I
under combat conditions. The Tigerfibel contains detailed
instructions on aiming, firing, ammunition and close combat. There
are extensive sections on maintenance, driving, radio operation and
the essentials of commanding a Tiger I in combat. This book
contains the original German publication with a complete English
translation, new overview and introduction by Emmy Award winning
historian Bob Carruthers. Highly accessible, this book is essential
and rewarding reading for all readers interested in the history of
the Tiger I.
This book begins with the analysis of America's post-war
intelligence operations, propaganda campaigns, and strategic
psychological warfare in Japan. Banking on nuclear safety myths,
Japan promoted an aggressive policy of locating and building
nuclear power plants in depopulated areas suffering from a
significant decline of local industries and economies. The
Fukushima nuclear disaster substantiated that U.S. propaganda
programs left a long lasting legacy in Japan and beyond and created
the fertile ground for the future nuclear disaster. The book
reveals Japan's tripartite organization of the dominating state,
media-monopoly, and nuclear-plant oligarchy advancing nuclear
proliferation. It details America's unprecedented pro-nuclear
propaganda campaigns; Japan's secret ambitions to develop its own
nuclear bombs; U.S. dumping of reprocessed plutonium on Japan; and
the joint U.S.-Nippon propaganda campaigns for "safe" nuclear-power
and the current "safe-nuclear particles" myths. The study shows how
the bankruptcy of the central state has led to increased burdens on
the population in post-nuclear tsunami era, and the ensuing
dangerous ionization of the population now reaching into the
future.
Second World War British Military Camouflage offers an original
approach to the cultures and geographies of military conflict,
through a study of the history of camouflage. Isla Forsyth narrates
the scientific biography of Dr Hugh Cott (1900-1987), eminent
zoologist and artist turned camoufleur, and entwines this with the
lives of other camouflage practitioners, to trace the sites of
camouflage's developments. Moving through the scientists'
fieldsite, the committee boardroom, the military training site and
the soldiers' battlefield, this book uncovers the history of this
ambiguous military invention, and subverts a long-dominant
narrative of camouflage as solely a protective technology. This
study demonstrates that, as camouflage transformed battlefields
into unsettling theatres of war, there were lasting consequences
not only for military technology and knowledge, but also for the
ethics of battle and the individuals enrolled in this process.
Challenging the legality of UK nuclear policy as a further
generation of nuclear-armed submarines is developed, Trident and
International Law asks who is really accountable for Coulport and
Faslane. The UK government in Westminster controls nuclear policy
decisions even though Britain's nuclear submarines and warheads are
all based in Scotland, at Faslane and Coulport. The Scottish
Government therefore has responsibilities under domestic and
international law relating to the deployment of nuclear weapons in
Scotland. Public concern about nuclear deployments, and
particularly the security and proliferation implications of
modernising Trident, led the Acronym Institute for Disarmament
Diplomacy, the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre and Trident
Ploughshares to organise an international conference on 'Trident
and International Law: Scotland's Obligations' in Edinburgh in
2009. This book presents the key papers and documents, with
additional arguments from renowned legal scholars. The findings
should be of interest to lawyers, policymakers and citizens with
interest or responsibilities in legal and nuclear issues, public
safety and human security. Whilst focusing on Scotland, this book
raises serious questions for nuclear weapon deployments worldwide.
"Hospital Preparation for Bioterror" provides an extremely timely
guide to improving the readiness of hospitals or healthcare
organizations to manage mass casualties as a result of
bioterrorism, biological warfare, and natural disasters.
Contributions from leading law enforcement agencies, hospital
administrators, clinical engineers, surgeons and terror-prevention
professionals provide the most comprehensive, well-rounded source
for this valuable information. Chapters on logistics and protecting
the infrastructure help personnel distinguish the specific risks
and vulnerabilities of each unique institution and assists in
identifying specific solutions for disaster and bioterrorism
preparedness.
-Principles and techniques discussed are applicable to all
disasters, both large and small, not just bioterrorism
-Technical aspects such as hospital power and telecommunications
are covered, in addition to patient care, response to mass
casualties, large-scale drills, and surge capacity.
-Organized along functional lines, patient flow, medical specialty,
and infrastructure
-A complimentary website with supplementary materials, check-lists,
and references enhances the text and provides additional resources
for preparedness.
First comprehensive study of English artillery in the late Middle
Ages, bringing out its full impact on areas beyond the military.
One of the most important technological developments of the Middle
Ages was the adoption of gunpowder weapons in medieval Europe. From
the fourteenth century onwards, this new technology was to
eventually transform the conduct ofwarfare beyond all recognition
with important implications for European and global history. Guns
came to be used in all aspects of military operations, with kings,
nobles and burgesses all spending large sums of money on these
prestigious weapons. The growing effectiveness of gunpowder
artillery prompted major changes in the design of fortifications,
the composition of armies, the management of logistics and
administrative systems. This book is the first full-length study of
the unique English experience of gunpowder weapons, tracing their
development from their introduction in the reign of Edward III to
the end of the fifteenth century. The rich records of the English
Exchequer and urban accounts are used to explore their role in
campaigns, in sieges, on the battlefield, at sea and their role in
the defence of towns, royal castles and the fortifications of the
Pale of Calais. It provides a comprehensive framework for the speed
of technological advances and the factors responsible for these
changes, as well as an in-depth discussion of individual gun types.
DAN SPENCER obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton.
Guns have existed in various forms for hundreds of years, and few
objects have had such an immense impact on the history of the
world. But how did firearms develop? Why did the styles of guns
change over the years? Firearms tells the "life story" of the gun,
from the hand-held weapons of ancient humans, to the medieval guns
of China that propelled objects by chemical reactions, to the
modern assault rifle, the gun as the primary weapon in the modern
army, and the gun as a tool for hunting. Not only does the book
demonstrate how firearms developed--an evolution dependent upon
years of trial and error, and often based on the recurrent need for
power, accuracy and a fast rate of fire--but it shows how these
advances directly affected the everyday life of people in almost
every civilization on earth. Firearms provides both students and
interested lay readers with insights on how this ubiquitous
technology came to be. The work does not focus on just one type of
firearm, but covers all types of relevant weapons. Exploring the
"life-story" of the gun enables the reader to understand how the
firearm came of age in Europe, where competition between nations
led to the development of different types of firearms--now known as
matchlock, wheelock, and flintlock. As successful as these designs
were, it was the precision manufacturing of industrialization that
would allow the invention of revolvers, breechloaders, and
repeating rifles. Eventually, recognition that the gas and recoil
of a shot could be used to reload a gun encouraged development of
the semi- and fully-automatic weapons that dominate firearm designs
today. Firearms includes a timeline of significant developments in
the history of guns, and a bibliography of the most important works
for further research.
Beginning with World War II, missiles transformed the art of war.
For the first time, cities of warring nations were vulnerable to
sudden, unannounced, long-distance destruction. At the same time,
rockets made possible one of the great triumphs of the modern
age—the exploration of space. Rockets and Missiles traces the
history of the technology that led to both the great fear of global
warfare, and the great excitement of the Space Age. Beginning with
the origins of rocketry in medieval and early modern Asia, the
volume focuses on rocketry in late-20th-century Western Europe,
Russia, and the United States, and also covers the spread of rocket
technology in East Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Rockets
and Missiles covers everything any student or interested layperson
would need to understand the history of rocketry. The introduction
reviews basic principles of physics and basic elements of chemical
rocket technology. Chapters trace the history of rockets from their
origins to the present day, with a particular emphasis on the years
since World War II. All three principal uses of rocket technology
are covered in detail: missiles as long-range strategic weapons and
short-range tactical weapons, and rockets as launch vehicles for
sending payloads into space The book concludes with a survey of
several types of non-chemical rockets now under development for use
in outer space. While Rockets and Missiles covers the development
of the technology, including how rockets improved in performance,
reliability, and versatility. The book also stresses the impact of
rocket technology—both military and civilian—on everyday life.
Get up close to more than 400 of the most important tanks and
armoured vehicles ever built. In 1916, the British built a machine
that was impervious to enemy fire, and could dominate the
battlefield, crushing obstacles and barbed wire in its path. The
first tank, or "Mother" as it was known, had arrived. In The Tank
Book you can view it in detail, along with other iconic models,
including the German Panzer, the legendary Tiger, the Vickers
Medium Mark II, the Centurion, and the Hellcat - the fastest
armoured fighting vehicle ever. This comprehensive volume takes you
through the most exciting story in recent military history with the
development of heavy artillery, anti-tank weaponry, and the men -
such as Sir William Tritton and Mikail Koshkin - who designed these
awe-inspiring beasts. It shows each key model in stunning detail,
highlighting elements such as their armour and weaponry, and much
more besides. Produced in association with The Tank Museum, The
Tank Book traces the tank's development in response to two world
wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and many other conflicts. If
you are interested in modern warfare, The Tank Book is truly
unmissable reading.
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