F-15E Strike Eagle — This two-seat version of the F-15 can still carry air-to-air missiles, but it is intended for long-range, low-altitude attack missions, hitting enemy targets well back from the front lines.
F-117A — The famous, oddly angled “Black Jet” is used by the U.S. Air Force to destroy vital, heavily defended targets. Alternately it can attack the defenses themselves, clearing the way for more conventional aircraft to attack safely. A combination of flat surfaces and special materials makes the plane virtually invisible to radar. Its official name is Nighthawk, but it is called the Black Jet by its crews.
F/A-18 Hornet — A twin-engine, single-seat carrier jet designed to replace the A-7 Corsair II, the F-18 is a multirole aircraft designed to be equally adept as either an attack aircraft or an air-superiority fighter. It is very maneuverable.
FA MAS — One of the most compact assault rifles ever designed, the FA MAS is the French Army’s standard infantry weapon. It uses a “bullpup” configuration with the trigger group in front of a 25-round magazine. Its unique appearance has earned it the nickname “Le Clarion“ (the Bugle).
Fire team — the smallest unit of tactical firepower. A fire team contains three or four men led by a corporal or junior sergeant. For instance, it might have three riflemen, one of whom also has a grenade launcher, and a man with a light machine gun. Two or three fire teams make up a squad.
FIS — Federal Investigative Service, the Russian agency that has assumed the old KGB’s internal security and counterintelligence functions.
FLIR — forward-looking infrared. A heat-sensitive TV camera used by aircraft that displays a magnified image on a video screen. It is very effective, in both day and night.
Fuchs — A German armored personnel carrier, it has six wheels, light armor, and can carry 14 troops. It is often used for specialized purposes, such as carrying surveillance radars, supplies, or as a command vehicle.
G3A3 — The standard German infantry weapon, it fires a large 7.62mm round and weighs almost ten pounds. It has a 20-shot magazine. It has been widely exported.
G11 — The planned standard weapon for the German Army, this futuristic-looking rifle is expected to enter service around the turn of the century. It fires a 4.7mm caseless round from a 50-round magazine and weighs just over eight pounds. It has an extremely high rate of fire and will be very accurate.
Gazelle — This French-made light helicopter has been widely exported. It can carry two men and a light load of antitank missiles or an autocannon. It is usually used for scouting.
G-PALS — Global Protection Against Limited Strikes. The name currently used to describe a planned strategic defense system that would destroy enemy ballistic missiles before they could reach their targets. As currently envisioned, the system would include ground-based interceptors in the continental U.S., mobile ground-based interceptors to accompany U.S. military units overseas, and several “constellations” of advanced space-based interceptors in low earth orbit.
HELIOS — a French surveillance satellite.
HOT — A Franco-German antitank missile, it has a long range (4,000 meters) and a large warhead, and is in the same class as the American TOW.
HUD — heads-up display. Projects important information onto a piece of glass mounted directly in front of the pilot’s eyes, making it possible to avoid going “heads down” to look at cockpit instruments. The HUD is a vital aid during fast-moving air combat. The data displayed includes speed, altitude, weapons status, g-forces, target data, and fuel status.
Humvee — Actually HMMWV, but pronounced “hummvee,” this light utility truck replaced the U.S. Army’s jeep, which was proving too small to carry many loads. The jeep’s gasoline engine was also a drawback, and the HMMWV uses a diesel.
IFF — Identification, Friend or Foe. In this method of identifying unknown aircraft, an air-search radar uses a special antenna to send out coded radar pulses. A transponder (receiver-transmitter) on the plane checks the code, and if it is correct, responds with a signal identifying the aircraft. Unfriendly aircraft do not respond to the signal — appearing only as a radar blip.
IR — infrared. This refers to the heat emitted by objects. This heat can be detected, and even used as a light source.
IR homing — Some air-to-air missiles home in on the heat generated by an aircraft. The first IR seekers, built in the 1950s, had to be looking almost directly up a jet engine’s tailpipe. They were also easily deceived by flares or the sun. Current-generation IR seekers can “see” the hot metal on the leading edge of a plane’s wing, as well as its exhaust, and over a much larger field of view. They are also very hard to decoy. The American Sidewinder, French Magic, and Russian Archer AAMs all use IR homing.
Iwo Jima- class assault carrier (Inchon) — Although these ships look like aircraft carriers, they do not carry jet aircraft. Instead they carry large helicopters and up to a battalion of marines.
Javelin — A replacement for the near-worthless Dragon, the Javelin antitank missile has a range of 2,000 meters and can either attack the thin top armor of a main battle tank or the side armor of a lightly armored vehicle. Unlike its predecessor, it does not use a wire, but carries its own “fire and forget” homing system. It takes a team of three men to carry the launcher and reload missiles. Javelin will enter U.S. Army service in the mid-1990s.
Kormoran 2 — A German-built antiship missile, the Kormoran has a relatively short range (just over 30 miles) but flies at sea-skimming altitude. This makes it a difficult target for many antiaircraft weapons. It carries a 480-pound warhead.
Leahy- class cruiser (Dale) — These large ships were purpose-built to escort aircraft carriers and protect them from air attack. They also carry some antisubmarine and antisurface weapons, but their “main battery” is a pair of twin-railed surface-to-air missile launchers, one forward, one aft.
LeClerc — An advanced French battle tank, the LeClerc will replace the aging AMX-30s in the mid-1990s. It uses composite layered armor and is fitted with a 120mm gun and an auto loader. It is in the same class as the U.S. M1A2 Abrams and the German Leopard 2.
Leopard 1 — The first German tank built after World War II, it appeared in the 1960s. Combining a low silhouette with high speed and a 105mm gun, the Leopard was more than a match for its expected adversary, the T-55, and even its successor, the T-62. It was replaced in front line service in the late 1970s by the Leopard 2.
Leopard 2 — Larger and heavier than the Leopard 1, the Leopard 2 is the equal of the M1A2 Abrams but appeared several years earlier. It carries a 120mm gun, a sophisticated fire control system, and is fitted with advanced armor, which greatly increases its protection against tank-killing missiles.
Light infantry — Several types of infantry units, airborne, airmobile, and Rangers among them, class themselves as “light” infantry. They do not have many armored vehicles, if any, or in most cases even trucks. This makes them less than mobile on a modern battlefield, but in proper terrain, they can cause the enemy a great deal of trouble. Because they are “light,” they are easily transported and are often the first units present in a conflict.
LNG — liquefied natural gas.