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There are many different types of Thermobaric weapons, it is the destructive concept that renders Thermobarics different than conventional high explosives.  Rather than a simple bomb with high explosives in the warhead, thermobaric weapons, or fuel-air bombs, are predominantly filled with either an aerosol or powder of a high explosive mixture.  The bomb has 2 charges, the first to blow away the casing and release the aerosol cloud, and the second to detonate the cloud.  This 2 stage method renders the size of the blast to be drastically larger in diameter than conventional…

Western forces beware, the Chinese have fielded the most advanced tank yet! Well, only the most advanced in China that is. Following in the ancient Chinese tradition of quantity over quality and cheap products, the Chinese have developed their own 3rd generation battle tank that they believe is the answer to the Western nations’ superior tank designs. Likewise, they also used their other ancient tradition of ripping off western designs to compensate for their lack of engineering ability in the design of this tank. Yes, the Type 99 tank does possess many up-to-date gimmicks like a laser awareness system to…

For all those military buffs out there, wink wink, I would like to take a moment to commend one of the greatest programming achievements in the history of television. The Discovery Communications company, the parent of the Military Channel, converted the older Discovery Wings channel into the Military Channel in July of 1998, and has rapidly increased it’s program listing since then. If you like what you see here on Future Firepower, definitely take the time to check out some of the awesome shows they have on the Military Channel. Just to name a few of the…

German Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank

Manufacturer:  Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW)

So the Germans have a tank that is comparable to the American Abrams line of tanks.  Big deal right?  Of course not!  The Leopard is fighting side by side with the American Abrams in Afghanistan and Iraq right now!  The Canadians in particular have deployed many Leopards to Afghanistan for combat roles, and the opinions on which tank is better are mixed.  It basically goes both ways, each tank has its pros and cons, and in the end; they both are equally as effective against the threats they face there.  The similarities…

If you haven’t seen the movie Shooter yet, then you probably aren’t really familiar with the longest range sniper rifle in the world. That’s right, this rifle, the CheyTac M200 Intervention has beaten out the Barrett M107 and Accuracy International AS50 (whose longest ranges were negligably similar at approximately 1 mile) as the longest consitent accuracy rifle to date. Of course it takes more than just the rifle and sniper to achieve hits at its max range, 2500 yards or 1.42 miles. You must also have all the…

This SUV is how the President and other important diplomats stay safe when they are traveling through hostile territory. A mini-gun pops out of the top of the vehicle filling the air with up to 4000 rounds per minute. The mini-gun on the GMC vehicle is located on a turret to allow for a 360 field of view. Check out the video of the presidential SUV below.

Richard Machowicz, the host of The Military Channel’s Future Weapons, probably has the best job on the planet. I mean, after 10 years in the Navy SEALS he probably got bored with all the intense training and bad ass weapons right? I guess not. Now he gets to enjoy augmented civilian status as he still has access to top secret facilities and weapons technology, which he proudly displays with cold precision on his Military/Discovery Channel show Future Weapons. Basically, “Mack” is our hero here at Future Firepower. Its not like he has a show where he just…

Although the image on the left might look like a tricked out video game setup, it actually represents Raytheon’s new approach to the UAV cockpit for the “chairforce”. Thats right, these cockpits will be constructed by the hundreds and filled with eager video game nerds turned Air Force Commandos. From within these cockpits, recruits will guide advanced aircraft with a variety of munitions into unfriendly territory to monitor and track enemy activity.

It would seem that one would be under much less pressure during a mission than if there were an actual pilot on site pulling G’s and making…

Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman [NYSE: NOC]
Sometimes I have trouble controlling myself when it comes to some of this stuff. I have seen it before on TV, but just simply haven’t gotten around to writing about it. I’m talking about the awe-inspiring Fire Scout UAV helicopter. A remote control helicopter capable of autonomous take-off, landing, and flight, it really just makes me giddy. Not to mention that this death machine’s release was coupled with an upgrade to the Hydra 70 rockets typically fired from the rocket pods mounted on Ah-64 Apaches. Now they’re laser-guided. …

In recent days, the Bush Administration has revealed that it has began to draw up plans to bomb Iran. With a target list of up to 1200 facilities, the Pentagon estimates that it would take around 3 days of continuous day and night bombing raids to accomplish the task. The raids though, are not intended to solely focus on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Iranian military must go too. This hard decision was made because, not so ironically, of the US presence in Iraq. With American bombs falling every minute across the…