A-6E Intruder: A twin-engine attack plane, the Intruder is one of the few planes that can strike a target in any weather. It is launched from carriers and has a prodigious payload. The crew of two sits side by side, and although the copilot has no flight controls, he can fly the plane by telling the plane’s computer what to do.
A-7E Corsair: A single-engine, single-seat attack jet, this plane first appeared during the Vietnam War. It is classed as a “light attack” jet and lacks the sophisticated sensors and massive payload of the A-6 Intruder. It is a popular aircraft with its pilots.
AA-2 Atoll: The first Soviet heat-seeking air-to-air missile, it is a direct copy of the 1950s-vintage AIM-9B Sidewinder. Like the early model of this missile, it can attack targets only from the rear. It has a range of about two miles.
AA-7 Apex: A Soviet radar-guided missile of mediocre performance. It has a range of about twenty miles.
AA-11 Archer: A Soviet short-range, heat-seeking missile. It has a range of about four miles, and most importantly, the ability to engage enemy aircraft from the front.
AIM-54C Phoenix: A U.S. radar-guided missile, it is linked to the F-14 Tomcat’s AWG-9 weapons system. This huge weapon has a range of eighty miles and a speed of five times the speed of sound.
AIM-7M Sparrow: The standard U.S. radar-guided missile, its 25-mile range is shorter than that of the AIM-54C Phoenix, but much longer than that of the Sidewinder or any other heat-seeking missile. It has gone through many improvements. Although the initial versions used in Vietnam were poor performers, the later makes are considered very effective.
AIM-9L Sidewinder: One of the most effective and successful missiles ever made. After launch, it homes in on the heat given off by an aircraft and explodes. Unlike earlier models, or other similar missiles of other countries, it does not need to see the hot tailpipe of a jet aircraft but can even lock onto an aircraft from the front. It has a range of about ten miles.
AK-47: A Russian-designed assault rifle, this simple, effective weapon has been exported widely and copied by many nations. It is a 7.62-caliber rifle that can be fired either in semi or full automatic. It weighs about nine and a half pounds.
AKM: A newer and slightly lighter version of the Soviet AK-47 rifle.
An-2 Colt: A Soviet biplane first designed in the late 1940s. In spite of its ancient appearance, it is an excellent performer, is cheap, and has good short-field characteristics. Popular as a light transport and utility craft, over 18,000 have been built.
APC — Armored Personnel Carrier: A general term used to describe vehicles designed to ferry infantry across the battlefield. Their light armor provides protection against artillery fragments and small-arms fire.
APS-115: A U.S. radar carried in the nose of the P-3C Orion. Called a “surface search” radar, it is used to look for ships and especially periscopes.
AS-4 Kitchen: A Soviet cruise missile, the “AS” stands for “air to surface.” “Kitchen” is the NATO code name assigned to the weapon. Supersonic, it is launched from large aircraft like the Backfire. It has a range of 280 miles and a one-ton warhead. The warhead can be either high explosive or a nuclear bomb.
ASROC — Antisubmarine Rocket: Fired from Navy ships, it is used to attack submarines. A solid-fuel rocket quickly boosts a Mark 46 homing torpedo several miles to the presumed location of an enemy submarine. Once it arrives in the target area, the homing torpedo is lowered into the water by parachute. In place of the torpedo, ASROC can carry a nuclear depth charge.
ASW — Antisubmarine Warfare: The art and science of killing enemy submarines.
AWG-9 radar: The radar mounted in the nose of the F-14 Tomcat fighter. A very powerful and sophisticated unit, it allows the aircraft to track and fire AIM-54C Phoenix missiles at up to six air targets simultaneously.
BDU — Battle Dress, Uniform: The Army’s name for camouflaged uniforms.
BLU-109 bomb: A type of 2,000-pound bomb. It has a specially hardened case that allows it to penetrate many feet of reinforced concrete before detonating.
BMP — Bronevaya Maschina Piekhota: A Russian armored personnel carrier, it carries seven troops and has a crew of two. A modern design, it has a small turret that mounts a 73mm gun or 30mm autocannon, an antitank missile launcher, and a machine gun. It is tracked, and amphibious.
BOQ — Bachelor Officers’ Quarters: A cross between an apartment house, a dormitory, and a zoo, it is a place for unmarried officers to live on base rent-free. Each room has a combined bedroom and living room and a small bath. There are no kitchen or cooking facilities, although there is usually a refrigerator.
BTR — Bronetransportr: A Russian term for a series of eight-wheeled armored personnel carriers.
BTR-60: An eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier, it first appeared in the early 1960s. The first of a long series of similar designs, it has a boat-shaped hull and can carry fourteen men. One flaw in this design is its two gasoline engines, located behind thin armor. This was corrected in later versions.
C-141 Starlifter: This four-engined transport is the stardard cargo plane for the U.S. Air Force. It can carry over 200 troops or 35 tons of cargo.
C-5 Galaxy: The largest aircraft in the U.S. inventory, this monster can carry 110 tons of cargo. It rarely carries troops but instead is used to carry items too bulky or heavy for the C-141 Starlifter.
C4: The designation for a type of plastic explosive used by the U.S. Army and others. It can be worked like modeling clay, burned, or dropped, but it will not detonate without an igniter.
CAR-15: A South Korean-built version of the U.S. M16 rifle.
CEV: The M728 Combat Engineering Vehicle looks like a cross between a bulldozer and a tank. It has a built-in crane, a bulldozer blade, and a large, low-velocity “demolition gun.” It is used by the Army to clear obstacles and build entrenchments.
CH-53: A twin-engined cargo helicopter, the CH-53 was also used in Vietnam as a combat rescue helicopter, with machine guns, armor, and a hoist for recovering downed pilots from inside enemy territory. This was so successful that the idea was expanded to the present MH-53E Pave Low, an ultrasophisticated machine loaded with sensors and weapons.
CIA — Central Intelligence Agency: One of many U.S. intelligence agencies and the one most widely known. Headquartered in Langley, Virginia, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.
CIC — Combat Information Center: The compartment of a Navy warship where displays showing information from the ship’s radars, sonars, lookouts, and any other sensors are located. The ship’s captain will normally “fight his ship” from here, where he can see what is going on around his vessel. It was first developed during World War II, when sea battles moved out beyond visual range.
CINCPAC–Commander in Chief Pacific: A U.S. officer in command of all American forces in the Pacific area. The post is usually occupied by an admiral, but he also controls Army, Air Force, and Marine units in his jurisdiction. Also referred to as a “unified commander.”
CINCPACFLT — Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet: The admiral in charge of all U.S. naval forces in the Pacific Ocean. He reports to CINCPAC.
Claymore mine: Most land mines are buried in the ground and are tripped when a vehicle or soldier passes over them. The Claymore is different. Spikes hold it upright on the surface of the ground. It is tripped electrically, on command, and sends out a fan-shaped pattern of steel balls that shred anything in their path. It is called a “directional” mine.
COMSUBPAC–Commander Submarines Pacific: The admiral in charge of all submarines in the Pacific Ocean. There are corresponding commanders for surface and air forces, COMSURFPAC and COMAIRPAC. All report to CINCPACFLT.
CP — Command Post: The term used to designate the location of an army unit’s headquarters.
DEFCON — Defense Condition: A series of formalized levels describing the status of U.S. armed forces. DEFCON V is peacetime, IV is heightened readiness, III is crisis, DEFCON II indicates a conventional war is in progress, DEFCON I indicates a nuclear war is under way.
DICASS — Directional Command-Activated Sonobuoy: Dropped from aircraft, this device is used to help search for submarines. Once in the water, on command, it will send out sonar pings into the water.
DMZ — Demilitarized Zone: A four-kilometer-wide area between the two Koreas where no military forces are allowed. While the Zone itself is not militarized, the areas just north and south of it are very militarized. Troops stationed along it commonly refer to the Zone as the “Z.”
Dragon: A medium-range, wire-guided antitank missile that is fired by an infantryman. It has a thermal sight, a range of about 1,000 meters, and will penetrate all but the heaviest armor.
DSC — Defense Security Command: Part of the South Korean Army specifically tasked with watching the officer corps for signs of disloyalty or an impending coup. Their authority is absolute.
E-2C Hawkeye: A twin-engine turboprop, this plane is instantly recognizable by the massive radar saucer that sits on top of the fuselage. Carrying a crew of radar operators and fighter controllers, the E-2C can see air and surface contacts hundreds of miles out and control the defense of a task force. It carries no weapons and is relatively slow.
E-3 Sentry: An ultrasophisticated AWACS — airborne early warning and control system — built into a Boeing 707 fuselage. Like the E-2C Hawkeye, the E-3 is characterized by a massive radar saucer and by its ability to monitor and control air battles within a several-hundred-mile radius.
EA-6B Prowler: A heavily modified A-6 Intruder, this twin-jet aircraft carries powerful jamming equipment in the fuselage and in pods under the wings. The A-6’s normal crew of two is doubled to four, three of whom operate the Prowler’s electronics. It can interfere with enemy weapons, radars, and radio communications at long ranges.
ELINT — Electronic Intelligence: Aircraft equipped with sensitive receivers patrol off enemy coasts or near enemy ships, recording the radar and communications signals they detect. The information is then taken back to base and analyzed.
EMCON — Emission Control: Radars and radio send out active signals, emissions that can be detected (see ESM). Emission Control is used to restrict such transmissions and reduce a task force’s chance of being detected.
ESM — Electronic Support Measures: This meaningless term is the name for a type of sensor carried on warships and some aircraft. It is used to detect the radar transmissions of other ships and aircraft, and to determine their nature and direction.
ETR: Estimated Time of Repair.
F-14A Tomcat: A huge, carrier-launched fighter, it is designed exclusively 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. It has two engines and a crew of two.
F-16 Falcon: A single-engine, single-seat fighter used by the U.S. Air Force. An excellent “dogfighter,” at present it lacks the capability to fire long-range, radar-guided missiles.
F-15 Eagle: A twin-engine, single-seat fighter used by the U.S. Air Force. Almost as maneuverable as the F-16 Falcon, it is much larger and can fire long-range, radar-guided missiles.
F-18A Hornet: A twin-engine, single-seat jet designed to replace the A-7 Corsair II. The F-18A is a multirole aircraft intended to be equally adept as either an attack aircraft or an air-superiority fighter. It is very maneuverable and is designed to be launched from carriers.
F-4 Phantom II: A twin-engine, two-seat fighter, it was designed by the U.S. and exported widely. In terms of the number produced and different roles it has performed, the F-4 is probably one of the most successful aircraft of all time. It can carry radar-guided missiles, but is used by the South Korean Air Force for ground attack, at which it is most effective.
FAC — Forward Air Controller: Fast-moving jet aircraft have trouble picking out small, camouflaged ground targets. Forward Air Controllers fly in slow-flying aircraft at low altitude and act as “spotters” for the attack jet. They find enemy targets, sometimes mark them with smoke rockets or a laser designator, and steer the incoming air strike right in on top of the enemy.
FEBA — Forward Edge of the Battle Area: An Army term meaning the point where U.S. and enemy troops are in contact.
Feniks sonar: A Russian sonar carried by Romeo-class submarines. It is a forty-year-old design and has extremely short range.
GAO — Government Accounting Office: The fiscal watchdog of the federal government.
GAU-8/A gun: A 30mm Gatling gun mounted in the nose of the A-10 Warthog. Designed specifically for tank killing, the gun has a rate of fire of 4,200 rounds per minute. It fires a special round made of fantastically heavy depleted uranium.
GRU — Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye: Chief Intelligence Directorate, Soviet General Staff. Soviet military intelligence, responsible for collecting information on the military forces of opposing countries.
GSP — Gusenichnii Samokhodnii Porom: The Russian name for a tracked amphibious ferry used to carry tanks and other heavy equipment across a river.
HARM — High Speed Antiradiation Missile: An air-launched missile designed to home in on enemy surveillance and guidance radars and destroy them.
Harpoon: The American-made Harpoon missile can be fired from ships, from aircraft, and even from submarines. This versatile antiship missile can carry its 500-pound warhead to targets up to 60 nautical miles away.
HARTs — Hardened Artillery Site: A type of fortification used by the North Koreans to protect artillery from attack.
HQ: Headquarters.
HUD — Heads Up Display: Projects important information onto the windscreen 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 a fast-moving air combat. The data displayed on the windscreen includes speed, altitude, weapons status, g forces, target data, and fuel status.
IFF — Identification Friend or Foe: An airplane or ship sends a coded electronic signal out to an unknown contact. A black box on an aircraft, if it receives the proper code, responds with a signal of its own, telling the observer that the aircraft is friendly. Aircraft without the proper codes are the enemy. The codes are changed daily.
Il-18 Coot: An elderly Russian four-engine airliner. Versions are used by the military and by Aeroflot, the Soviet Union’s civilian airline.
Il-76 Mainstay: Based on a large, four-engine jet transport, this radar plane has a large 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 — Komitet Gosudatstvennoy Sigurnost: Committee for State Security. The Soviet organization responsible for the security of the Soviet state inside and outside its own borders. It deals with subversion, espionage, intelligence gathering, and other matters.
LAMPS — Light Airborne Multipurpose System: See SH-2F Sea Sprite.
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 F, bombers with B, and special-purpose aircraft with M.
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 — Pontonno-Mostovoi Park: The name for a type of Russian pontoon bridge.
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, twin-engine fighter with the armament removed and cameras installed in the nose. Its only defense is speed.
RIO — Radar Intercept Officer: The U.S. Navy term for the flight officer in the backseat of a two-seat fighter, such as the F-14 Tomcat or F-4 Phantom II. While the pilot flies the aircraft, the RIO operates the plane’s complex weapons systems.
ROK — Republic of Korea: South Korea.
RORSAT — Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite: A Russian radar satellite that searches for ships. It can transmit information back to naval headquarters in the Soviet Union or even provide targeting data directly to surface ships or subs with long-range weapons.
RPG — Rocket-Propelled Grenade: Russian designation for a series of simple antitank weapons. The most common is the RPG-7, which is a shoulder-fired weapon with a short range.
RPK: A Russian designation for a light machine gun of mediocre performance, especially when compared to the U.S. M60 machine gun. It weighs a little over 12 pounds.
R.S.F.S.R. — Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic: The largest of the fifteen republics making up the Soviet Union. The R.S.F.S.R. contains more than half the Soviet population and three-quarters of the nation’s territory. It stretches from the Baltic Sea in the west to the shores of the Pacific Ocean in the east — including all of Siberia.
RTO — Radio Telephone Operator: Any soldier assigned to carry and operate a unit’s radio. He is usually found near the officers.
S-60: The designation for a Russian-designed twin 57mm antiaircraft gun. They are normally deployed in batteries of six or regiments of twenty-four. The guns are radar-guided.
SA-2 Guideline: An elderly Soviet antiaircraft missile. The “SA” stands for “surface to air.” It is designed to engage high-altitude targets.
SA-7 Grail: A small, shoulder-fired missile with a heat-seeker. It can engage low-altitude targets at close range. A later version, the SA-14 Gremlin, has improved performance.
SA-8 Gecko: A newer, mobile antiaircraft missile, it can engage aircraft at low and medium altitude. It is completely self-sufficient, with the radar and missiles mounted on an amphibious wheeled vehicle.
SA-N-8: A naval version of the shoulder-fired SA-14 Gremlin, it is a short-range, heat-seeking antiaircraft missile.
Sabot: Technically the French word for “shoe,” it is also the name for an armor-piercing tank shell. A small superheavy tungsten alloy or depleted-uranium penetrator is fixed to a larger boot, the sabot, which is the same size as the tank’s main gun barrel. When the round is fired, the boot falls away as it leaves the barrel, freeing the penetrator for its fight to the target.
SACEUR — Supreme Allied Commander in Europe: A NATO command, the billet is occupied by a four-star general who would command all NATO forces in Europe in wartime.
SAM — Surface-to-Air Missile: A general term applied to any missile used to shoot at aircraft.
SAR — Search and Rescue: The use of aircraft and specialized rescue teams to search for and recover aircrews downed behind enemy lines.
SH-2F Sea Sprite: A small twin-engine helicopter with a crew of three. It can land and take off from the fantail of a small warship and search for ships or chase down sonar contacts. It can carry torpedoes or depth charges for use against enemy subs. It is also called the LAMPS Mark I, for “Light Airborne Multipurpose System.”
SH-60B Seahawk: A twin-engine helicopter designed to replace the SH-2F Sea Sprite. Equipped with powerful engines and advanced electronics, the Seahawk is also called the LAMPS Mark III. It can search for surface ships or submarines and attack both types of targets.
SIGINT — Signals Intelligence: Similar to ELINT, it encompasses both the collection of enemy electronic emissions and the later analysis of those emissions.
SMG: Submachine gun.
Sonobuoys: Small, air-droppable sonar devices used to detect submarines. They may be either active pinging sonars or passive listening devices. ASW aircraft and helicopters usually carry large numbers of sonobuoys.
SOP — Standard Operating Procedure: Standardized instructions covering the optimum procedures for many different types of operations — for everything from forming a convoy to attacking a bunker. Because it is supposed to be “standard” Army-wide, it allows different units to cooperate more efficiently.
Soviet submarine designations: The Soviets do not reveal their names or designations for their submarines. NATO has thus designated each class of Soviet subs with a letter of the phonetic alphabet — Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, and so on. They are not designated in sequence, so that the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines actually appeared after the Tango class.
SQS-56 sonar: A medium-frequency sonar carried on the U.S. O.H. Perry-class frigate. While not as powerful as other American sonar designs, it is more effective in shallow water.
SS-N-2C Styx: A Soviet-designed surface-to-surface missile. With a range of roughly 46 miles, the Styx is intended to give even small naval vessels a powerful punch. The missile has been fired in anger in a number of conflicts around the world, and it has sunk a number of warships and merchantmen. However, the Styx has proven ineffective against newer, more sophisticated missile defenses.
Su-7 Fitter: Produced by the Sukhoi design bureau, this thirty-year-old design is a single-engine, single-seat attack aircraft. It has poor range and can carry only a mediocre payload.
Su-27 Flanker: A new twin-engine, single-seat Soviet fighter. Roughly equal to the U.S. F-15 in performance, it carries a large number of radar-guided missiles.
T-55: An older Soviet tank with a relatively weak 100mm gun and many design flaws. Among other things, the ammunition is poorly protected, so that any solid hit on the tank is likely to detonate the shells.
T-62A: The successor to the T-55 tank, the T-62A first appeared in the 1960s. It mounts a 115mm gun and improved fire-control system. It has thicker armor but compares poorly with its U.S. equivalent, the M60 tank.
T-72 tank: A modern Russian design, the T-72 mounts a 125mm gun and improved armor. It has several flaws, notably its fire-control system and a cranky automatic loader. Nevertheless, the T-72’s heavy armor is still hard to penetrate, especially from the front.
TACCO — Tactical Coordinator: A Navy term for the officer on an ASW plane who controls the attack. He must coordinate the use of his plane’s weapons and sensors, and possibly those of other units as well.
TOW — Tube-launched, Optical Wire-guided missile: A large, long-range antitank missile that first saw service in Vietnam and was a spectacular success. Since then it has been improved and is now the standard U.S. heavy antitank weapon. It has a range of 3,750 meters.
Tu-16 Badger F: The Tu-16 Badger is a 1950s-vintage twin-jet bomber. It has been used in many different roles since its introduction. The “F” model is loaded with electronic sensors designed to record information on enemy transmissions.
Voyska PVO: The Soviet name for their air defense forces, which are organized into a separate military service. The PVO consists of an array of early warning radars, surface-to-air missiles, and interceptors.
XO — Executive Officer: A Navy term for the officer who is second-in-command of a naval vessel. He is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the ship, while the captain keeps track of the big picture.
Z: Slang for DMZ or Demilitarized Zone.
ZSU-23-4 Shilka: A Soviet tracked antiaircraft vehicle, it carries four 23mm antiaircraft cannon. It has an onboard radar and is considered a dangerous opponent.
ZU-23: A Russian twin 23mm cannon on a ground mounting, it has a limited effect but the advantage of being cheap and numerous.