Weapons explained
What each weapon type is, what it does and which countries have the most.
Land
Main battle tank
A heavily armoured tracked vehicle with a large main gun mounted in a turret. Tanks combine firepower, protection and mobility, and lead at…
Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV)
An armoured vehicle that carries a squad of soldiers into battle and supports them with its own cannon and often anti-tank missiles. It is …
Armoured personnel carrier (APC)
A protected 'battle taxi' that moves soldiers safely through dangerous areas. It usually carries only a machine gun for self-defence. APCs …
Self-propelled howitzer
A large artillery gun built onto its own armoured chassis, so it can drive into position, fire, and move away quickly before the enemy can …
Towed artillery
An artillery gun pulled by a truck and set up by its crew at the firing position. It is cheaper and lighter than self-propelled artillery a…
Multiple rocket launcher (MLRS)
A truck or tracked vehicle carrying many rocket tubes that can fire a whole salvo within seconds, covering a large area. Newer systems such…
Air
Fighter jet
A fast, agile combat aircraft built to win control of the sky by destroying enemy aircraft, and in most modern designs also to strike groun…
Strategic bomber
A large, long-range aircraft that can fly across continents to strike targets deep inside an enemy country, with conventional or nuclear we…
Ground-attack aircraft
An aircraft designed mainly to attack tanks, vehicles and positions on the ground in support of troops ('close air support'). They are usua…
Military transport aircraft
Aircraft that carry troops, vehicles, supplies and paratroopers, and fly disaster relief and medical evacuation missions. Many can land on …
Attack helicopter
A helicopter armed with a cannon, rockets and anti-tank missiles, built to hunt tanks and support ground troops. It can hide behind hills a…
Transport & utility helicopter
The workhorses of every military: they move troops and cargo, rescue people, evacuate the wounded and fight fires. Heavy-lift helicopters s…
Airborne early warning aircraft (AEW&C)
An aircraft carrying a large radar, often in a rotating dish on its back, that can see aircraft, missiles and ships hundreds of kilometres …
Sea
Aircraft carrier
A floating airbase: a huge warship with a flight deck from which fighter jets take off and land. A carrier lets a country project air power…
Helicopter carrier / amphibious assault ship
A large ship with a flat deck for helicopters (and sometimes short-take-off jets) plus a floodable dock at the back for landing craft. It c…
Destroyer
A large, fast and heavily armed surface warship (typically 7,000–13,000 tonnes) that protects fleets against aircraft, missiles, submarines…
Frigate
A medium-sized warship (about 3,000–7,000 tonnes), smaller and cheaper than a destroyer, often specialised in hunting submarines and escort…
Corvette
A small warship (roughly 500–3,000 tonnes) built for coastal defence. Despite its size a modern corvette can carry anti-ship missiles, anti…
Attack submarine
A warship that operates hidden under the sea, hunting enemy ships and submarines with torpedoes and missiles, and gathering intelligence. B…
Patrol vessel & fast attack craft
Smaller ships and boats that guard a country's coast and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ): they stop smuggling and illegal fishing, rescue…
Missiles & air defence
Air defence (surface-to-air missiles)
Ground-based radar and missile systems that shoot down aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and in some cases ballistic missiles. Countries bu…
Cruise missile
A guided missile that flies like a small jet aircraft, low over land or sea, and steers itself to a precise target hundreds or thousands of…
Hypersonic weapons
Missiles that fly at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5+) and can manoeuvre during flight, making them very difficult for air …
Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM)
A guided missile, carried by soldiers or mounted on vehicles and helicopters, that can destroy a tank from several kilometres away. Some, l…
Infantry
Assault rifle
The standard personal weapon of the modern soldier: a rifle that can fire single shots or bursts. The Kalashnikov (AK-47) family and its co…
Shoulder-fired air defence (MANPADS)
Man-portable air-defence systems: small heat-seeking missiles fired from a soldier's shoulder at low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drone…
Special forces
Small, highly selected and intensively trained units that carry out raids, hostage rescue, reconnaissance behind enemy lines and counter-te…
Strategic
Nuclear weapons
The most destructive weapons ever made: a single warhead can destroy a city. Nine countries are believed to possess them; Russia and the US…
Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
A missile with a range of over 5,500 km that flies up out of the atmosphere and comes back down on a target on another continent within abo…
Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)
A large nuclear-powered submarine that hides in the deep ocean carrying long-range nuclear missiles. Because it is almost impossible to fin…
New technology
Military drones (UAVs)
Unmanned aircraft flown remotely or autonomously, used for surveillance, artillery spotting and attack. They range from large aircraft that…
Cyber & electronic warfare
Fighting in the digital and radio-wave world: attacking or defending computer networks, power grids and communications, and jamming or fool…
Military space & satellites
Satellites guide missiles and soldiers (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou), carry military communications, take reconnaissance images and give early war…