Bullets And Missiles

T-14 Armata  In 2015 during the Moscow Victory Day Parade Russia unveiled its newest addition to their arsenal. The T-14 Armata, a next-generation main battle tank based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform. And even though one of the tanks had a malfunction during the rehearsals, the unveiling itself was enough to raise eyebrows in the western world. The T-14  is a new-generation main battle tank aimed to replace the T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks that become increasingly out-dated. It is much bigger than the older T-90 weighing at 48 tonnes and is operated by a 3 man crew (commander, gunner and driver). The Armata’s engine is the ChTZ 12Н360 (A-85-3A) diesel engine delivering up to 1,500 hp, making it run with a top speed of 80–90 kilometres per hour (50–56 mph) within a range of 500 kilometres (310 mi) using  a 12-speed automatic gearbox. Unlike most of the T series tanks, the new tank has seven 700 mm road wheels per side and has the ability to adjust the suspe...

Members of the 11th Sikh Regiment in 1860 During the latter part of the 18th century, a Boundary Commission was created in agreement with the emir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan to define the spheres of Afghan and British influences (this later became the Durrand Line) within the region. After the agreement, the latter was prompted to execute a ‘forward policy’ of occupying forts with the effort of keeping a force in order to protect their area of influence. These forts were in places inhabited by Pathans, the tribes of people living in the region. Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan (also known as Fort Cavagnari)  were two in a series of forts that were manned by the British along the Sulaiman Range in the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). And since the two forts were not in line of sight due to geographical attributes, a relay heliograph communication post was built at Saragarhi. Heliography is a communication technique using sunlig...

F-14 Tomcat  This is the F-14 Tomcat, a  supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft created and designed by Grumman Aerospace Corporation for the United States navy which was tasked to defend U.S. aircraft-carrier operations at long ranges against the enemy. Overview Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer) Length: 62 ft 9 in (19.1 m) Wingspan: Spread: 64 ft (19.55 m) Swept: 38 ft (11.58 m) Height: 16 ft (4.88 m) Empty weight: 43,735 lb (19,838 kg) Loaded weight: 61,000 lb (27,700 kg) Max. takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,720 kg) Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans F-14 breaking the sound barrier  Performance Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at high altitude Combat radius: 500 nmi (575 mi, 926 km) Ferry range: 1,600 nmi (1,840 mi, 2,960 km) Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,200 m) Rate of climb: >45,000 ft/min (229 m/s) Armaments ...

Irma Grese  “She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Her body was perfect in every line, her face clear and angelic, and her blue eyes the gayest, the most innocent eyes one can imagine. And yet Irma Grese was the most depraved, cruel, imaginative pervert I ever came across.” This were the words of Dr. Gisella Perl, a female inmate doctor in Auschwitz-Birkenau, in describing the beauty and how evil the famed Hyena of Auschwitz is. Irma Grese was born on 7 October 1923, she was the third of five children to Berta Grese and Alfred Grese. As a child, her dream was to be a nurse. But faith or should we say the devil had other plans for her. Due to a combination of a poor scholastic aptitude, bullying by classmates and a fanatical preoccupation with the League of German Girls she left school in 1938 at age 15.  After dropping out of school Grese left home and worked as a farmhand for six months then worked as a retail sales clerk in a shop in Luchen ...

Apache Guardians taking off.  The AH-64 Apache is, in its simplest form, one of the best four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter the United States military have in their arsenal. This helicopter, which has been attacking enemy targets and providing CAS (close air support) with the US Army since April of 1986 is here to stay and give wrath with the enemy especially with its improvements and upgrades.  The latest and perhaps the best version of the Apache is the AH-64E or called as the Apache Guardian. And just like the previous versions, both the crew can control the helicopter with the pilot sitting behind and above the co-pilot/gunner. What sets the Apache Guardian apart from the old Apache is her strong engines, two General Electric T700 turboshaft engines with high-mounted exhausts on either side of the fuselag rated at 2,000 shp (1,500 kW). To keep up with its stronger engines the attack helicopter was given a new transmission. A new composite blades was als...

Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onada Meet Hiroo Onada, an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer carrying the rank of second lieutenant who never laid down his arms after World War II ended and was a hold out in the small island of Lubang in the Philippines for 29 years.  Onoda was born on 19 March 1922 in Kamekawa Village, Kaisō District, Wakayama Prefecture in Japan to a family of samurai warriors. By the age of 18, he was enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army Infantry and trained as an intelligence officer in the commando class Futamata of the Nakano School. He was deployed to Lubang Island on 26 December 1944 and joined his unit until the Americans and Filipino forces overwhelmed and captured the island. All but Onada and three other Japanese soldiers were either killed or surrendered to the Allied forces. His order to the other three soldiers, hide in the hills.  He and his team, Private Yuichi Akatsu, Corporal Shōichi Shimada and Private First Class Kinshich...

F-22 Raptors flying in formation  The F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation, American stealth tactical fighter aircraft designed for air superiority but also capable of ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence missions. It is considered the first 5th-generation fighter in the U.S. Air Force inventory, unmatched by any other modern military aircraft due to its low observable technologies, modern avionics, and efficient engines .   Here's a detailed overview:   General Characteristics and Specifications   The F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft .   - Crew: 1 - Length: 62 ft 1 in (18.92 m)  - Wingspan: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)  - Height: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)  - Wing Area: 840 sq ft (78.04 m^2)  - Empty Weight: 43,340 lb (19,700 kg)  - Max Takeoff Weight: 83,500 lb (38,000 kg)  - Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 augmented turbofans, 26,000 lbf (116 kN)...

Su-25  Meet the Sukhoi Su-25 Grach, Moscow’s designated tank killer. This single seat, twin-engine aircraft called as Frogfoot by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a Soviet Era aircraft developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau Joint Stock Company to provide CAS (close air support) for the Soviet Ground Forces. It is capable of destroying small mobile and stationary ground targets, as well as engaging low-speed air targets. The aircraft has a conventional aerodynamic layout with a shoulder mounted trapezoidal wing, tailplane and rudder. Her airframe was made of 60% aluminium, 19% steel, 13.5% titanium, 2% magnesium alloy and 5.5% other materials. It is powered by two Soyuz/Tumansky R-195 turbojet engines with a combat radius and ferry range of 375km and 7,500km for her 3,600 liter fuel capacity and is equipped with self-sealing, foam-filled fuel tanks. The Su-25 has a maximum speed of 950km/h and can climb at a rate of 58 meters per seconds to the ceiling of 7,000 mete...

Ka-52  The Russian Ka-52 “Alligator” is a modified version of the single seat Ka-50 “Black Shark” that is specifically created by Kamov as an all-weather attack helicopter and is capable of attacking ground hostiles and low-speed air targets during daytime or at night. Originally, the Kamov proposal was to develop a helicopter dedicated to conduct battlefield reconnaissance, provide target designation, support and co-ordinate group attack helicopter operations. However, the economic hardship that struck Russia in the late 1980's prompted the Kamov’s Designer General to install the reconnaissance and target designation system in the modified Ka-50. Ka-50 Now designated as Ka-52 “Alligator” (NATO reporting name Hokum B), the new version was fitted a side-by-side seating arrangement, giving an extra seat for the second crew that has the task of operating the optronics/radar reconnaissance system, a radar system with two antennas—mast-mounted for aerial targets and nose-mo...