saucer radome on top of the fuselage. It can monitor air and sea movements up to several hundred miles away. It is the rough equivalent of the American E-3 Sentry.
INS — Inertial Navigation System: This device keeps track of the user’s position by measuring his movements in three dimensions. The result is most often displayed on a small map or as a latitude and longitude readout. When started, an INS must always be “told” where it is.
IP — Initial Point: A U.S. Air Force term that refers to the geographic location used as the start point for an approach to a target.
ITV — Improved TOW vehicle: This converted M113 armored personnel carrier mounts a two-tube launcher on top to fire TOW antitank missiles. The launcher and its attached sight can be extended several feet into the air, allowing the vehicle to stay hidden while searching for targets.
Jian-7: The Chinese designation for their copy of the Soviet MiG-21 fighter.
KA-6D tanker: A modified version of the A-6 Intruder, this plane is fitted with a hose and reel. It is launched from carriers and is used to refuel the other planes in flight after they have been launched.
KATUSA — Korean Attached to U.S. Army: Term for a South Korean soldier serving as part of an American Army unit.
KGB —
LAMPS — Light Airborne Multipurpose System: See
LAW — Light Antitank Weapon: A 66mm rocket in a fiberglass tube, this one-shot, throwaway weapon weighs about five pounds. It has a short range and limited penetrating power, but it gives the individual soldier a powerful one-time “punch” against lightly armored vehicles, bunkers, or buildings.
LOFAR — Low Frequency Analysis: The sound signature of each submarine is subtly different, and by analyzing the sounds they make a subhunter may be able to determine the nature of his opponent. The term is also used to refer to a class of relatively inexpensive passive sonobuoys dropped from ASW aircraft to listen for enemy submarines.
LRRPs — Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols: During the Vietnam War, small detachments of soldiers were inserted deep in enemy territory, where they operated alone for extended periods of time. Specially trained, they gathered intelligence and conducted ambushes, sabotage, or assassinations.
M16: The standard U.S. Army infantry weapon, it is much lighter and smaller than its predecessor, the M14 rifle. The M16 weighs eight and a half pounds. It can be fired on semi or full automatic.
M-48 tank: This vehicle was first designed in the early 1950s. Mounting a 90mm gun and with a gasoline engine, it was used by American armored units and exported widely. Obsolete since the 1960s, many have been reworked with larger 105mm guns, diesel engines, and improved fire-control systems.
M-60 tank: The M-60 tank mounts a 105mm gun and served as the U.S. military’s main battle tank for nearly two decades. It is still in service, but is being gradually replaced in front-line units by the M-1 Abrams.
M60 machine gun: The standard U.S. Army machine gun, it is actually derived from a World War II German design, the MG 42. It weighs 23 pounds and is normally fired from a bipod.
M61 Vulcan: This revolutionary 20mm cannon revived the “Gatling gun” principle for use as an aircraft weapon. It has a rate of fire of over 3,000 rounds per minute. First appearing in the 1950s, this principle has since been applied to other calibers (see GAU-8).
M-113: An armored personnel carrier first deployed in 1960, it is little more than a thinly armored box on treads. Armed only with a. 50-caliber machine gun, it remains popular and cheap — despite its inadequate protection. It is being replaced in the U.S. Army by the M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
M-577: A heavily modified version of the M113 armored personnel carrier, it is equipped to serve as a mobile command post.
MAC — Military Airlift Command: Part of the U.S. Air Force, it operates their fleet of transport aircraft and is responsible for ensuring the rapid air movement of U.S. troops and equipment to trouble spots around the globe.
MAD — Magnetic Anomaly Detector: A sensor carried on Navy subhunting aircraft. It detects the distortions in the earth’s magnetic field caused by the presence of several thousand tons of steel making up a submarine’s hull.
Mark 82: One of a series of low-drag bombs used by the United States and other countries. The Mark 82 weighs 250 pounds, the Mark 83 1,000 pounds, and the Mark 84 2,000 pounds.
MiGs: “MiG” stands for “Mikoyan and Gureyivich,” whose aircraft designs have been produced since World War II. Other design bureaus have also produced fighter designs, but the MiG series has been the most famous and the most successful. All Russian aircraft have been assigned code names by NATO, since they do not give their aircraft names like “Falcon” or “Eagle.” Fighter code names always begin with
MiG-19 UTI: A twin-engine, single-seat fighter that appeared after the Korean War, the MiG-19 Farmer is an older design that is still fairly maneuverable and has shown that it can take some punishment and still survive. The “UTI” is the Soviet abbreviation for the two-seat training version.
MiG-21 “Fishbed”: The MiG-21 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter designed by the Soviets but widely distributed to their allies. Though an older design, it is still a fairly maneuverable aircraft and a dangerous opponent in a close-in dogfight. It carries a primitive radar and radar-guided missiles in addition to heat-seekers and a cannon.
MiG-23 “Flogger”: The MiG-23 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter also distributed by the Soviets. Very fast, it is a notoriously poor dogfighter. It does have a fairly effective radar and radar-guided missiles to take advantage of that fact.
MiG-29 “Fulcrum”: A brand-new Soviet fighter that has been heavily exported to their allies. While not quite as good as current U.S. designs, the twin-engined MiG-29 is too close for comfort. It is equipped with a good radar and missile armament.
MLR — Main Line of Resistance: Term for a line defining the forward edge of a military unit’s main defensive position.
MRE — Meals Ready to Eat: The modern replacement for the legendary “C” rations, an MRE is a series of plastic pouches filled with freeze-dried foods. While individual opinions vary, on the whole they are seen as a vast improvement over their predecessors.
NSP — National Security Planning Agency: The new name for the KCIA, or Korean Central Intelligence Agency. This organization is responsible for stopping espionage and subversion threatening the Republic of Korea.
OP — Observation Post: A small, often concealed, position occupied by one or two men whose mission is to provide early warning of enemy movement.
OV-10D Bronco: A twin-turboprop observation plane, it was designed during Vietnam to serve as a forward air controller. It has a crew of two and carries a small weapons load of its own.
P-3C Orion: A four-engine turboprop, this successful design is based on the Lockheed Electra airliner. Instead of passengers, the fuselage carries many different sensors, computers, and a bomb bay full of sonobuoys and homing torpedoes.
PFC: Private First Class.
PMP —
Radar-Guided Missiles: All air-to-air missiles have some sort of guidance mechanism to help them find the target. The two most common types are infrared, or heat-seeking, systems, such as the AIM-9L Sidewinder, and radar-guided systems, such as the AIM-7M Sparrow. Essentially, radar-guided missiles home in on a target “painted” by a friendly radar. They are longer-ranged than heat-seeking missiles and can usually attack a target from any angle. They are also more complex and cost more to build.
RF-5A: A reconnaissance variant of the F-5A Freedom Fighter. It is a small, simple,
