WMDO Warfare

  As Russia  ratchets up the nuclear threat  over the past few days, following their invasion of Ukraine, one of the weapons  on people’s minds is Poseidon . This nuclear ‘mega torpedo’ is unique in the history of the world. Despite speculation, we do not believe that Poseidon has been deployed. The system is not yet ready. But it does raise concerns for nuclear stability in the near future. It changes the shape of nuclear deterrence and will become one of Russia’s most feared weapons. Poseidon is an ‘Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo’. It is a giant torpedo which can hit coastal cities with devastating results. Compared to an intercontinental ballistic missile it is very slow, but  possibly unstoppable . Russia maintains that it can also be used as a tactical nuclear weapon against warships. High-value targets would include aircraft carriers. This is harder to rationalize than the second-strike nuclear deterrence role, but it is ...

  The  Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , commonly known as the  Russian Armed Forces , are the  combined military forces  of  Russia . They comprise the  world's fifth-largest military  in terms of  active-duty personnel , with at least 2 million  reserve personnel . Their branches consist of the  Ground Forces ,  Navy , and  Aerospace Forces , as well as three independent arms of service: the  Strategic Rocket Forces ,  Airborne Forces , and  Special Operations Forces . Under the  federal law of Russia , the Russian Armed Forces, alongside the  Border Guard  of the  Federal Security Service  (FSB), the  National Guard , the  Ministry of Internal Affairs  (MVD), the  Federal Protective Service  (FSO), the  Foreign Intelligence Service  (SVR), the  Main Intelligence Directorate  (GRU), and the  Ministry of Emergency Si...

  The  Messerschmitt Me 262 , nicknamed  Schwalbe  (German: " Swallow ") in fighter versions, or  Sturmvogel  (German: " Storm Bird ") in fighter-bomber versions, was the world's first operational  jet-powered  fighter aircraft. Design work started before  World War II  began, but problems with engines, metallurgy and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the  Luftwaffe  until mid-1944. The Me 262 was faster and more heavily armed than any  Allied  fighter, including the British jet-powered  Gloster Meteor . One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II, the Me 262's roles included  light bomber ,  reconnaissance  and  experimental   night fighter  versions. Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied aircraft shot down, although higher claims are sometimes made. The Allies countered its effectiven...

  A  main battery   is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a   warship   is designed. As such, a main   battery   was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of   cannon   on a   ship of the line . Later, this came to be turreted groups of similar large-caliber   naval rifles . With the evolution of technology the term has come to encompass guided missiles as a vessel's principal offensive weapon, deployed both on surface ships and submarines. A main battery features common parts, ammunition, and  fire control  across the weapons which it comprises. In the age of  cannon  at sea, the main battery was the principal group of weapons around which a ship was designed, usually its heavies. With the coming of  naval rifles  and subsequent revolving  gun turrets , the main battery became the principal group of heaviest guns, regardless of how many turrets they were placed...

  The  Armed Forces of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , and then the  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , also known as the  Soviet Army  and  Armed Forces of the Soviet Union  ( Вооружённые Силы Союза Советских Социалистических Республик , Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the  Russian SFSR  (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and the  Bolshevik Party  from their beginnings in the  Russian Civil War  of 1917–1923 to the  USSR collapse  of 1991. In May 1992, Russian President  Boris Yeltsin  issued decrees forming the  Russian Armed Forces , which subsumed much of the Soviet Armed Forces, while the rest of the former Union's military, still under unified  CIS  control, disbanded circa 1992–1993, forming national armed forces instead. According to the all-union military service law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of...

  The  Lockheed C-130 Hercules  is an American four-engine  turboprop   military transport aircraft  designed and built originally by  Lockheed  (now  Lockheed Martin ). Capable of using unprepared  runways  for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop,  medevac , and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile  airframe  has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a  gunship  ( AC-130 ), for  airborne assault ,  search and rescue , scientific research support, weather reconnaissance,  aerial refueling ,  maritime patrol , and  aerial firefighting . It is now the main  tactical airlifter  for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including civilian versions marketed as the  Lockheed L-100 , operate in more than 60 nations. The C-130 entered service with the U.S. in 1956, followed by Australia and many...

  The  Mil Mi-17  ( NATO reporting name :  Hip ) is a Soviet-designed Russian  military helicopter  family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production as of 2021  at two factories in  Kazan  and  Ulan-Ude . It is known as the  Mi-8M  series in Russian service. The helicopter is mostly used as a medium twin-turbine  transport helicopter , as well as an armed  gunship  version. General characteristics Crew:  3 (two pilots and one engineer) Capacity:  24 troops / 12 stretchers / 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) cargo internally / 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) externally slung. Length:  18.465 m (60 ft 7 in) Height:  5.65 m (18 ft 6 in) Empty weight:  7,489 kg (16,510 lb) Gross weight:  11,100 kg (24,471 lb) Max takeoff weight:  13,000 kg (28,660 lb) normal 13,500 kg (29,762 lb) with under-slung load Powerp...

  The  Mil Mi-24  ( Russian :  Миль Ми-24 ;  NATO reporting name :  Hind ) is a large  helicopter gunship ,  attack helicopter  and low-capacity  troop transport  with room for eight passengers. [1]  It is produced by  Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant  and has been operated since 1972 by the  Soviet Air Force  and its successors, along with 48 other nations. In  NATO  circles, the export versions,  Mi-25  and  Mi-35 , are denoted with a letter suffix as "Hind D" and "Hind E". Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying tank" (Russian:  летающий танк ,  romanized:  letayushchiy tank ), a term used historically with the famous World War II Soviet  Il-2  Shturmovik  armored ground attack aircraft. More common unofficial nicknames were "Galina" (or "Galya"), "Crocodile" (Russian:  Крокодил ,  romanized:  Krokodil ), due to the helicopter's camouflag...

  The  Mikoyan MiG-27  ( Russian :  Микоян МиГ-27 ;  NATO reporting name :  Flogger-D/J ) is a  variable-sweep   ground-attack aircraft , originally built by the  Mikoyan-Gurevich  design bureau in the  Soviet Union  and later licence-produced in  India  by  Hindustan Aeronautics  as the  Bahadur  ("Valiant"). It is based on the  Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23   fighter aircraft , but optimised for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not have widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for the  Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN  and  Sukhoi Su-22  instead. It remains in service only with the Kazakh Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian, Indian, Sri Lankan and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired. General characteristics Crew:  1 Length:  17.08 m (56 ft 0 in) Wingspan:  13.97 m (45 ft 10 in) wings s...