Weapons / Platforms / Systems

China's military development has become a key focus of US security policy as well as that of virtually all Asia-Pacific states.

This book examines emerging defense technologies such as directed energy weapons, nanotech devices, and bioscience applications that have the potential to dominate international relations in the future, just as nuclear weapons and space infrastructure-assisted conventional weapons do now.

Packed with exciting facts and important aspects on military weapons, this title also provides historical context, compelling photos, primary source quotations, and critical thinking activities. The title also includes a glossary, web links, and additional resources.

The Panzerfaust-3, a German shoulder-fired heat-seeking antitank missile, can punch through a metre of solid steel-far more than any armoured vehicle could carry. The MPR-500, an Israeli precision bomb, can hammer through several storeys of a building and explode on a chosen floor. These and myriad other military and intelligences technologies are changing the world. The book is organised into five parts: land and sea, air and space, the computer factor, intelligence and spycraft, and the road ahead, which examines the coming challenges for western armies, such as new wars against insurgents operating out of civilian areas.

This comprehensive guide profiles nearly every weapon and device currently in use by the U.S. Army. As well as cutting-edge technology that will soon be employed around the world, it covers missiles, small arms, biological detection systems, rockets, reconnaissance systems, radios, helicopters, and planes.