European military

[PitViper 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Tex [uSMC] @ July 08 2002,13:30)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Ahh, I love it. A whole new generation of good French equipment just waiting to be horribly misused by incompetent French commanders the next time the Germans decide to go for a stroll through Western Europe. Im buying stock in Lockheed as we speak.<span id='postcolor'>

troll

[PitViper 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (residuum @ July 08 2002,14:47)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">What's the point of this thread?  If I wanted to learn about France's miltary, I would go to google and search "French Military"

However I probably run into lots of sites with jokes...<span id='postcolor'>

oh geez.. let the man post his country's equipment. why is it an issue?

[DarkLight 0]

For information about the weapons off the Belgian army

Go here

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

Big, Bad Battle Tanks

Four of the world's most formidable tanks -- representing the UK, France, Germany, and the US -- are put to the test.

From Britain, the Challenger 2 tank has a 360-degree turning turret, an L30 gun that can fire eight rounds -- ammunition that includes armor piercing depleted uranium shells -- in 45 seconds. With a price tag of $5.5 million, and its relatively short attack range of 450 kilometers, FFM gives it an overall rating of six (out of 10).

Next up, from France, it's the Leclerc. While it's the only tank with an automatic loader in our test, it's still the slowest, firing at only six rounds per minute. Lighter and faster than the others, the Leclerc has a top speed of 75 kilometers per hour, and has a good attack range of 550 kilometers. The $7 million ticket, however, means an overall FFM rating of three.

The Germans bring us the Leopard 2 battle tank, a relative bargain at $4.5 million. The Leopard 2 is equipped with a long L55 firing gun, and can travel at a top speed of 72 kilometers per hour. It's also built with third-generation composite armor, which should help a crew of four survive a hostile encounter. The Leopard 2 gets an FFM rating of three.

Weighing in at 70 tons from the US, is the M1A2, a next-generation armored tank that helped the US win the Gulf War. At $5 million, it's not overly expensive. However, the parts are the most costly of the four tanks. The M1A2, which can travel at 72 kilometers per hour, is equipped with three machine guns and two smoke grenade launchers to mask it from enemy thermal imaging devices, and its cannons can fire three rounds in 12 seconds for a quick pounding. All in all, it garners a five FFM rating.

A rating of three, for a german masterpiece? How rude!

Didnt they consider that the new Leopard 2A6? Well we say that "lonely wolfes die quickly, I guess this is why we prefer to produce lots of rubish can-tanks than one perfect one! (it wasnt a really good Site anyway)

[ran 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Albert Schweizer @ July 08 2002,23:39)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">two smoke grenade launchers to mask it from enemy thermal imaging devices<span id='postcolor'>

wich dumbass writed that ?

albert , on wich dumb site did you take this article ?

smoke has never stopped a thermal imagery device to find a tank

the smoke is only meant to hide the tank from naked human eye

[Tex -USMC- 0]

M1A2 is only a 5? fuck that, would a 5 out of 10 tank perform as the backbone of the largest armoured conflict since Kursk and the Bulge and proceed to rip the heart out of the (formerly) 3rd largest standing army without losing a single tank to enemy action? I dont think so. Sounds like a 10 to me, or maybe an 11 on a really good day.

[ran 0]

anybody wants to put some pics of the materials of his homeland's armed forces ?

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

It was this link..aehm well maybe not a very sophisticated source

In Germany we have a big budget problem! As you know we still have the obligatory military service (like Corea). This turns out to be a huge unflexible unefficient apparatus. So many investments are urgent but we have to choose only a few that we actually can afford.

[Crush 0]

Some info's about the german Leopard II.

Army Technology - Leopard 2 - Main Battle Tank

[Crush 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Albert Schweizer @ July 08 2002,23:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">In Germany we have a big budget problem! As you know we still have the obligatory military service (like Corea). This turns out to be a huge unflexible unefficient apparatus. So many investments are urgent but we have to choose only a few that we actually can afford.  <span id='postcolor'>

Yeah, this budget problem really strains the german military capacities to the limit.

[zverushka 0]

OK, you've all talked about france and germany, now its time to talk about Russia! (well, Russia is geographically and culturally in Europe, so bah)

The T90 Main Battle Tank

"taken from http://users.aol.com/mike0000/t90.html"

http://users.aol.com/mike0000/t90_1.jpg

http://users.aol.com/mike0000/t-90_1.jpg

The T-90 retains the low silhouette of the earlier FSU tanks. The suspension consists of six large, die-cast, rubber-coated road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear, idler at the front and three track-return rollers that support the inside of the track only. Shock absorbers are fitted at the first, second and sixth road wheel stations. There are side skirts that extend along the entire side of the tank. The front third of this skirt consists of armored panels, whereas the rear two-thirds consist only of rubberized panels. There is an engine exhaust on the left side of the hull above the last road wheel. The glacis is well sloped, and is covered by KONTAKT-5 applique/ERA armor and a large transverse rib that extends horizontally across the glacis. The driver sits at the front of the hull and has a single piece hatch cover that opens to the right, in front of which is a single wide-angle observation periscope. Integrated fuel cells and stowage containers give a streamlined appearance to the fenders. The tank has a toothed shovel/dozer blade on the front of the hull beneath the glacis. There are attachment points beneath the blade for the KMT-6 mine-clearing plow. The low, rounded turret is centered on the hull. The commander’s cupola is on the right side of the turret; the gunner’s hatch is on the left side. The 125-mm main gun has a four section removable thermal shield. It has two sections in front of, and two sections to the rear of the mid-tube bore evacuator. A 7.62-mm coaxial machine-gun is mounted to the right of the mantlet.

BMP-3

http://users.aol.com/mike0000/bmp3_1.jpg

The hull of the BMP-3 resembles the BMD Airborne Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and has a well sloped glacis plate with the hull sides being vertical. The new turret is in the center of the vehicle with the commander being seated on the right and the gunner on the left. There is an additional crew member to the left and right of the driver's position, each of these being provided with a roof hatch that opens forwards and a single periscope in the hull roof in front of the hatch cover. The troop compartment is at the rear of the hull with entry via two doors in the hull rear that open left and right, with the left door having a firing port. As these doors are opened steps automatically fold down. The armor of the BMP-3 is believed to be laminated aluminum, and its manufacturers claim it affords protection against 30-mm armor-piercing rounds over the 60-degree frontal arc. Over the frontal arc the turret is provided with a layer of spaced armor and mounted on either side of this is a bank of three 81 mm electrically operated smoke dischargers.

AK-74 5.45-mm Assault Rifle http://www.sovietarmy.com/small_arms/ak-74_icon.jpg

The AK-74 is basically an AKM rechambered and rebored to fire a 5.45-mm cartridge.Externally, it has the same general appearance as the AKM, with two notable differences. It has a distinctive, two-port muzzle brake, giving it a slightly greater overall length than the AKM. It also has a smooth plastic magazine which is slightly shorter and is curved to a lesser extent than the grooved metal AKM magazine. It uses the same type of bayonet as the AK-series weapons. Although the AK-74 is somewhat heavier than the AKM when empty, its loaded weight is slightly less than that of the AKM; this is due primarily to the plastic magazine and its smaller-caliber ammunition. Like the AK and AKM, the AK-74 can mount a grenade launcher and a passive image intensifier night sight. There is also a folding-stock version, designated AKS-74, which has a Y-shaped, tubular stock. The stock has an extremely narrow buttplate, as opposed to the T-shaped, stamped-metal buttstock of the AKMS. The AK-74 fires 5.45 x 39-mm ball, ball-tracer, and incendiary-tracer rounds. The 5.45-mm round of the AK-74 has a considerably higher muzzle velocity than the 7.62-mm round of the AKM; this eliminates the range-limiting drawback of its predecessor. Like the AKM, the AK-74 has a maximum sight setting of 1,000 meters, but the effective range is 500 meters (versus 300 meters for the AKM). PK Series 7.62-mm General Purpose Machine Guns

PKM

http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/images/161-1.jpg

The 7.62-mm general-purpose machine gun Pulemyot Kalashnikov (PK) is a gas-operated, belt-fed, sustained-fire weapon. The PKM fires 7.62 x 54R rimmed cartridges using a metal non disintegrating belt. The basic PK model is bipod-mounted. It is fed by a 100-round belt carried in a box fastened to the right side of the receiver. It weighs 9 kilograms and is 1,161 millimeters long. It is constructed partly of stamped metal and partly of forged steel. The PKS is a PK mounted on a lightweight (4.75-kg) tripod. It uses either a 200- or 250-round belt. The belt feeds from a box placed to the right of the weapon. The PKT is the tank-mounted version of the PK. Late-model FSU tanks, turreted APCs and IFVs, and amphibious scout cars mount it as a coaxial machine gun. It has a longer and heavier barrel than the PK. It also lacks the PK's stock, sights, bipod, and trigger mechanism. The PKT has a solenoid at the rear for remote-controlled firing, although it also has an emergency manual trigger. The PKB is a variant of the PKT. It is intended for use as a pintle-mounted gun on APCs and SP guns. It differs from the PKT by having a butterfly trigger rather than a solenoid trigger and by having double space grips and front and rear sights. The PKM is an improved, lighter version (8.4 kilograms) of the PK, using stamped metal components instead of machined metal. Joinable 25-round sections of non-disintegrating metallic belts feed the bipod-mounted PKM. An assault magazine attached to the rails under the receiver can carry 100 cartridges belted in this way. Either 200- or 250-round belt boxes can also feed the PKM. The tripod-mounted PKMS is a lightweight version of the PKS. It has the same characteristics as the PKM, from which it is derived. The effective range of the PK-series machine guns is 1,000 meters. They have a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute and a practical rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute. Ammunition types include the following: ball, ball-tracer, armor-piercing incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary-tracer, and incendiary-ranging. It normally fires from its bipod mount but can also fit in vehicle firing ports. The PKS and PKMS are also infantry weapons. Used as heavy machine guns, they provide long-range area fire. Their tripod provides a stable mount for long-range ground fire. The tripod opens quickly to elevate the gun for antiaircraft fire. The machine gun has an effective range of 600 meters against slow-moving aircraft. The PKT serves as a coaxial machine gun on most modern Soviet tanks, IFVs, and APCs. The PKB (PKBM) serves as a pintle-mounted gun on older armored vehicles such as the BRDM, BTR-50, and BTR-60.

DShK

http://users.aol.com/threatmstr/dshk.jpg

The DShK is one of the standard heavy machine guns of the Soviet Army. It is a gas-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled weapon which fires from the open-bolt position. The model 38/46 has a shuttle feed housed in a flat, rectangular cover. It has reversible feed; that is, with a minor adjustment the ammunition belt can feed from either the left or the right side. It also has a quick-change barrel. The FSU use the DShK extensively as an antipersonnel and antiaircraft armament on medium tanks and armored personnel carriers. It is capable of full automatic fire only. The Soviets adopted the original DShK (model 38 or M1938) in 1938 as a ground-mounted, dual-purpose antiaircraft and antitank gun. Largely superseded by the 14.5-mm ZPU-series weapons in the antiaircraft role, the ground-mounted version has become obsolete. In 1946, the Soviets adopted the improved version (model 38/46 or M1938/46, also known as DShKM) with a modified feed mechanism and a quick-change barrel. It is still in use as a vehicle-mounted armament. When used as a tank machine gun, it is known as the DShKT.

AGS-17 30-mm Plamya Automatic Grenade Launcher

http://users.aol.com/threatmstr/ags-17a.jpg

The AGS-17 is a blowback-operated 30-mm automatic grenade launcher that can be mounted on a tripod or vehicle. A prominent drum magazine mounted on the right side holds 29 belted grenade rounds. The non-disintegrating metallic link belt exits from the left side. The short barrel with disc-shaped cooling fins protrudes from a large rectangular receiver. For ground transport, the system breaks down into four parts. The launcher itself weighs 17.86 kilograms and may be enclosed in a canvas carrying case. The sight weighs 0.99 kilograms; the folding tripod weighs 11.86 kilograms; and the magazine weighs 14.34 kilograms fully loaded, or 2.87 kilograms empty. The AGS-17 crew consists of a gunner and two riflemen-assistant gunners. For training, there may be only one assistant. When they dismount, the gunner carries the sight and launcher, the first assistant carries the tripod and a magazine, and the second assistant carries two additional magazines. The Soviets designed the AGS-17 to provide their infantry with an area-type suppressive-fire capability. They intend to use it primarily against personnel targets. It probably has some capability to engage soft-skinned and lightly armored vehicles. It is very accurate in the semiautomatic mode; it is also quite effective in area coverage in the automatic mode. One of the most important characteristics of the AGS-17 is its ability to provide indirect fire from protected positions against enemy troops in trenches, on reverse slopes of hills, or behind wooded areas. The gunner can engage targets by high-angle indirect fire at ranges from 1,000 to 1,730 meters; he can also use direct fire or high-angle direct fire at ranges from 50 to 1,730 meters. The sight reticle can serve as a direct-fire sight for point targets at ranges of up to 700 meters. The range table allows the gunner to adjust his fire rapidly for various ranges without computing elevations for the sight

BG-15 40-mm Under-barrel Grenade Launcher

http://users.aol.com/threatmstr/bg-15.jpg

The BG-15 grenade launcher consists of two parts: the barrel and the trigger mechanism. The barrel segment includes the barrel itself, the sight, and the mounting bracket. The barrel is 120 millimeters long. The sight attaches to the left side of the mounting bracket. It consists of a front post and a rear open U-notched sight graduated for ranges out to 400 meters. An additional sight setting is available for high-angle fire at ranges of 200 and 300 meters. The trigger mechanism attaches to the barrel by means of an interrupted thread coupler. The rifleman can activate it only when the complete weapon is attached to the assault rifle. The BG-15 can attach under the barrel of the AK-74 and AKS-74 assault rifles. It uses an integral button-released notch that connects to the bayonet lug. The grenade launcher is muzzle-loaded. A pre-engraved band on the projectile body positions the grenade. Two types of 40-mm grenades are known to be used: the 7P17 and the rebounding VOG-25. The VOG-25L has a small charge in the nose which detonates to propel the warhead to explode and scatter its fragments from 1.5 to 2 meters above the ground. The grenade has a maximum range of 400 meters, and can scatter its fragments over a radius of 200 meters. The launcher is percussion-primed.

RPG-22 Disposable Antitank Rocket Launcher

http://users.aol.com/threatmstr/rpg-22.jpg

The RPG-22 is a short-range, tube-launched, disposable, infantry antitank rocket launcher, similar to the US LAW system. The lightweight, collapsible launch tube consists of two parts: the outer tube made of fiberglass and a sliding inner tube made of aluminum. The inner tube extends 10 centimeters to the front of the outer tube in firing position. It fires a 73-mm fin-stabilized rocket with an effective range of 250 meters and a HEAT warhead capable of penetrating approximately 390 millimeters of armor. The trigger and the pop-up rear peep sight are in the middle of the extended tube. The pop-up front sight is at the forward end of the outer tube. The front sight is calibrated for ranges of 50, 150, and 250 meters.

BTW.. some nice pics of Chechnya and Russ. Army here: http://www.aeronautics.ru/chechnya/gallery2/page_01.htm

Tere's one pic of chechens though, so wierd bearded guys shaking hands.

.

[Paratrooper 0]

Challenger 2.

http://www.ifrance.com/ArmyRec...._05.jpg 135kb

Finaly a world beating British tank!

[Paratrooper 0]

Beware enemy aircraft!

The Rapier/Jernas.

[Warin 0]

I know you said no flames...but considering this is supposed to be a European Army thread, why did you decide to flame Canada?

But then again, this is from a guy who lives in a country that doesnt need a foreign war, because they are too busy killing each other.

(all in good fun, my ancestors are all Irish)

Great pics, Ran.

[Paratrooper 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Great pics, Ran. <span id='postcolor'> What about my Rapier? Challenger anyone? *sniffs

[Paratrooper 0]

The advanced new artillery weapon the AS90!

[ran 0]

don't forget : pics less than 100kb or the mods will get this thread

great pics para

they're from one of my favourite sites , french

[Paratrooper 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ran @ July 09 2002,04:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">don't forget : pics less than 100kb or the mods will get this thread

great pics para

they're from one of my favourite sites , french <span id='postcolor'>

Yes I nearly mentioned it lol. It's good but a little out of date.

[Paratrooper 0]

British Army Equipment. The Army site see for yourself.