ANL/ANS — The successor to the famous French Exocet, the ANS (surface-launched) and ANL (air-launched) will be longer-range (100+ miles), stealthy, and supersonic. These will present a difficult target for even the most sophisticated air defense weapons. They are due to enter service in the late 1990s.
APC — armored personal carrier.
Arleigh Burke- class destroyer (John Barry) — These general-purpose ships carry a smaller version of the Aegis system and a moderate number of missiles. They also have good sonars and carry surface-to-surface missiles. Their only flaw is that they do not carry a helicopter. They have a pad on the fantail, but no hangar.
ARM — antiradiation missile. This class of air-launched missiles homes in on the signal given off by a radiating radar. They can be set to attack a particular type of radar set. Once they reach the signal’s source, they explode and destroy the radar. The American HARM and French ARMAT are both ARMs.
ASMP — A French nuclear-armed missile, it is launched from a plane in flight and flies at three times the speed of sound. It carries a 150-kiloton warhead.
AT-4 — A Swedish-designed, shoulder-fired antitank rocket purchased for the U.S. Army, it weighs just over 13 pounds, and the rocket has a range of 300 meters.
ATGM — antitank guided missile.
AWACS — Airborne Warning and Control System. The acronym is often used as a nickname for the E-3 Sentry.
B-1B Lancer — Originally designed as a strategic nuclear bomber, the Lancer operates at low altitudes and high speed. The plane is now being adapted to a conventional role and can carry dozens of high-explosive bombs. It may also be able to carry a large number of laser-guided or optically guided bombs.
B-52 Stratofortress — Originally designed as a high-altitude, subsonic bomber, the B-52’s long lifetime has seen it in many roles. It is equally capable of dropping both nuclear and conventional bombs.
Battalion — Consisting of three to five companies, a battalion generally contains between 800 and 1,200 men — with 50 or so tanks or APCs if the unit is armored or mechanized. Battalions are usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel, who will have a major as his executive officer. Several battalions make up a brigade.
Battery — a group of four to eight artillery pieces. They will usually all fire at the same target. Several batteries make up an artillery battalion.
BfV — Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Roughly the German equivalent of the American FBI.
BRDM — A small, lightly armored, four-wheeled Russian reconnaissance car, it can carry a heavy machine gun or antitank missiles. It has been widely exported.
Brigade — Made up of three to four battalions, and smaller, specialized units, a brigade is commanded by a colonel or a brigadier general. Several brigades make up a division.
BTR-80 — A Russian-designed, eight-wheeled troop carrier, it has light armor and only a heavy machine gun for armament. It can carry 14 troops.
CAP — combat air patrol. Fighters, armed and aloft, patrolling against sudden enemy air attack.
CIA — The Central Intelligence Agency is tasked to provide information on threats to the United States outside her own borders. For this purpose, the CIA has personell assigned to foreign embassies around the world. The individual in charge is the “chief of station.” CIA officers may operate openly, or they may have cover identities, e.g., “assistant trade attaché.”
CIC — combat information center. A space on a warship where information from all the ship’s sensors (radar, sonar, etc.) is collected, displayed, analyzed, and acted on. The ship’s captain will “fight his ship” from here, not from the bridge.
Company — A group of three to four platoons, totaling 100 to 200 men, a company is commanded by a captain. Tank companies contain ten to fifteen armored vehicles. Several companies make up a battalion.
Corps — A group of two to four divisions, a corps is commanded by a lieutenant general. A corps will usually contain roughly 40,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 tanks and APCs.
CP — command post.
DCI — director of Central Intelligence. The head of the CIA, besides running his own organization, is tasked with collecting and presenting information from all the U.S. intelligence agencies to the President. These include the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and probably some outfits nobody’s ever heard of.
DGSE — Direction Générale de Sécurité Extérieur. The General Directorate of External Security is the French security service, equivalent to the American CIA.
Division — In Western armies, divisions are made up of several brigades. In armies modeled on the Soviet pattern, divisions consist of several regiments. In both cases, divisions are commanded by major generals.
Durandal — A French-made weapon, the Durandal is a rocket-boosted, armor-piercing bomb dropped from a low-flying aircraft. It is designed to “crater” runways so that they cannot be used by airplanes.
E-2C Hawkeye — The Hawkeye is a twin-turboprop airplane launched from aircraft carriers. It is unarmed, but it carries the APS-145 radar in a huge saucer on its back. Carrying a crew of radar operators and fighter controllers, the E-2C can spot air and surface contacts up to 250 miles away.
E-3 Sentry — An ultrasophisticated radar aircraft, the E-3 AWACS is built into a converted Boeing 707 airframe. Like the E-2C Hawkeye, the E-3 mounts a huge radar in a saucer on top. Its radar can spot sea surface and air targets 360 miles away, and vector fighters to intercept them.
EA-6B Prowler — An adaptation of the Intruder attack jet, the Prowler has a crew of four and is usually unarmed. Instead of carrying ordnance, it uses a suite of powerful jammers to scramble enemy radars and radio circuits.
ECM — electronic countermeasures. This term is technically defined as a range of measures designed to deny the enemy the use of radar or radio but is used colloquially to mean radar or radio jamming.
EMCON — Emission control is the technique of shutting down radars and radios so that the enemy will not detect their emissions and learn of your presence. “Radio silence” is a common part of EMCON, but to be effective it must include radars and even active sonar emissions as well.
ESM — electronic support measures. This meaningless term describes equipment used to detect enemy radars. All radars send out energy and “listen” for “echoes” bouncing back from solid surfaces. The energy they emit can be detected by another radar receiver, and, depending on the signal’s characteristics, it can give the listener the direction and type of enemy unit.
F-14 Tomcat — A huge, carrier-launched fighter, the F-14 is designed to engage enemy aircraft at long range with Phoenix and Sparrow radar-guided missiles. It is also fairly maneuverable and carries Sidewinders and a 20mm cannon for close-in work. The Tomcat has two engines and a crew of two.
F-15 Eagle — First appearing in the 1970s, the Eagle is an outstanding air-to-air fighter, equipped with the powerful APG-70 radar and up to eight air-to-air missiles, as well as a 20mm rotary cannon. It has a long range, is very maneuverable, but is a little on the large side.