Elint (Electronic Intelligence) The collection of battlefield intelligence (target location, systems type, nationality, force strength, etc.) via the analysis of emissions produced by radars and other electronic systems.
FALN A first-generation assault rifle designed by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium. A highly successful weapon firing the 7.62mm NATO round, it can still be found serving in the arsenals of a number of Third World states.
GPU (Global Positioning Unit) A mobile navigation system that utilizes radio impulses beamed down from an orbital network of satellites. Simple, compact, and extremely accurate, this technology is finding hundreds of uses in both the civil and military arenas. So much so that serious consideration has been given to building a GPU into the stock of every rifle issued by the U.S. Armed Forces.
Hellfire U.S.-designed heavy antitank missile. A powerful and accurate surface- and air-launched weapon, utilizing either laser or radar guidance. The Hellfire is rapidly finding a second mission with the United States Navy as an anti-small-craft missile.
Humint (Human Intelligence) The classic art of the spy. The collection of intelligence information by observers operating “on site” inside enemy territory.
Hydra 70 A 2.75-inch folding-fin war rocket. Originally designed as an aircraft-launched air-to-surface weapon, it is also carried as a weapons option by the Queen of the West-class seafighter. An unguided projectile, the Hydra is usually fired in salvos from a cluster of launching tubes. Effective and simple, it can be modified in the field to carry any one of a number of different warheads: antipersonnel, antiarmor, incendiary, and high-explosive.
M-2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun Designed in 1919 by the master gunsmith Dr. John Browning, this 85-pound, .50-caliber weapon has been in continuous production ever since. Like the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and the K-Bar knife, the only replacement for the “Ma Deuce” is another “Ma Deuce.”
M-4 Modular Weapons System The new firearm of choice for the U.S. military’s special warfare units. Essentially a short-barreled carbine version of the 5.56mm M-16A2 assault rifle, it comes equipped with a telescoping shoulder stock and the Picatinny Arsenal’s “Grab-Tight” rail-mounting system. This latter permits the weapon to be modified to suit the mission requirements and personal preferences of the user. Various handgrips and carrying handles can be installed, and either a 12-gauge riot gun or an M-203 40mm grenade launcher can be mounted beneath the barrel in an over-and-under configuration to augment firepower. It can be equipped with a variety of targeting systems, ranging from simple iron and telescopic sights to lasers, night-bright optics, and thermographic imaging.
Marine SOC (Special Operations Capable) A U.S. Marine combat element that has undergone a rigorous enhanced training program, giving it the capacity to function both as a Commando-style Special Forces unit and as a conventional infantry assault force.
Since the Korean conflict, the United States military has fielded a growing number of small elite units to deal with the problems of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and Special Warfare. The Army has its Green Berets, its Delta Force, and its Ranger regiment. The Navy has its SEAL (Sea-Air-Land) teams, and even the Air Force has its Air Commando squadrons. To date, the United States Marines have bucked this trend, flatly stating that since the entire Marine Corps is an elite formation, such specialized units are redundant.
Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher Also referred to as the “chunker,” the Mark 19 was originally conceived during the Vietnam conflict. In actuality it is a low-velocity, short-ranged automatic cannon firing the same family of 40mm shells as the M203 infantry grenade launcher. Mounted aboard numerous types of helicopters, ground vehicles, and small naval vessels, it can also be found in the heavy-weapons companies of U.S. infantry units, being fired from the same ground tripod as the M2 heavy machine gun.
MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carriage Equipment) New-gen combination backpack and load-bearing harness issued to U.S. ground forces.
NAVSPECFORCE (U.S. Naval Special Forces) A unified command existent in the year 2006 placing all USN/USMC special operations and “silver bullet” assets (SEAL, SOC Marine, stealth warfare, special recon, intelligence gathering, etc.) under a single headquarters.
Predator UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) A remotely controlled reconnaissance aircraft in use by the United States Armed Forces. Twenty-eight feet in length and with a forty-nine-foot wingspan, the Predator resembles a small sailplane with a tail-mounted propeller. Equipped with real-time television and IR sensors as well as synthetic-aperture ground-search radar, the Predator can loiter continuously over a patrol zone or specific objective for up to 24 hours, operating at a range of up to 500 miles from its control station.
SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) Developed by the U.S. Army and also coming into service with the other American armed forces, SINCGARS is an integrated family of man- and vehicle-carried radio systems for tactical battlefield communications. SINCGARS is an “Anti-Sigint” technology, encrypting voice and datalink transmissions via digital scrambling and using “frequency hopping” to render them difficult to jam or locate via the use of radio direction finding.
Sigint (Signal Intelligence) The collection of battlefield intelligence via the interception and decryption of enemy radio and landline communications.
SMAW (Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon) Designed by the Israelis and called by them the B-300, the SMAW is a direct descendant of the World War II bazooka, a lightweight, simple, but powerful shoulder-fired rocket launcher capable of knocking out bunkers and armored fighting vehicles. Used only by the Marine Corps in U.S. service.
TACNET (Tactical Intelligence Network) A multisource intelligence-gathering and analysis system. Utilizing reconnaissance UAVs, remote battlefield sensors, and surface and aerostat-mounted radars as well as various Sigint and Elint assets, it provides a combat commander with a continuously updated, real-time view of events occurring inside the theater of operations.
The author of Sea Fighter may be reached at [email protected]. All criticism and commentary gratefully accepted.
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