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  • MK39 Nuclear Bomb

    The MK39 was basically an improved MK15 equipped with parachutes to provide more release options for the delivery aircraft. It was carried by B-47 and B-52 bombers. Development of the MK39 began in 1955, and the first bombs entered the national inventory in 1957. The MK39 featured a shock-absorbing

  • Mark 28 Thermonuclear Bomb

    The Mk-28 hydrogen bomb was first produced in 1958 and remained in service until the early 1990s. Aircraft carried a streamlined variant externally or non-streamlined version internally. Used by various fighter and bomber aircraft (F-100, F-104, F-105, B-47, B-52, B-66 and others), these weapons

  • Mark 17 Thermonuclear Bomb

    The MK-17 was the first operational USAF thermonuclear "H-Bomb" (The "H" refers to the hydrogen which was fused under intense heat conditions to produce unprecedented energy yields).The MK-17 was carried by B-36s and was in service from 1954 until 1957. By today's standards, it was extremely large

  • Mark 7 Nuclear Bomb

    The Mk-7, initially produced in 1952, was the first nuclear weapon that could be carried by USAF (and U.S. Navy) fighter aircraft. Although it was carried externally by fighters (F-84, F-100 and F-101), it also could be carried internally by bombers such as the B-57. Because of the lack of ground

  • Mark VI Aerial Bomb

    Developed in 1949, the Mark VI Aerial Bomb was basically an improved version of the "Fat Man" bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. An implosion bomb (involving implosion-triggered plutonium fission), it had a higher yield, was lighter and had improved ballistic (flying)

  • M61A1 Vulcan Cannon

    The M61A1 Vulcan cannon is a six-barrel 20mm weapon capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute. Incorporating the same basic principle invented by Richard J. Gatling in the 1860s, the M61A1 multiple gun barrels rotate rapidly to allow a high rate of fire. Because each barrel fires only one of every

  • M102 105mm Cannon

    Designed for easy transport by helicopters or light vehicles, the M102 105mm cannon first saw service in Southeast Asia with the U.S. Army in 1966. The M102's light weight made it well-suited for use on AC-130 gunships. One of the side-firing 40mm guns on the AC-130 was replaced with the modified

  • Martin Marietta LANTIRN Navigation and Targeting System

    The Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting InfraRed for Night system gives Air Force strike aircraft an accurate, night, low-altitude, precision bombing capability. The system consists of two externally-mounted pods carried on some fighter aircraft. LANTIRN was first employed during the Persian Gulf

  • Martin CGM-13B Mace

    A replacement for the TM-61A Matador, the Mace was a tactical surface-launched missile designed to destroy ground targets. Initially designated the TM-76, then the MGM-13, and finally the CGM-13B, the Mace could be launched from either a mobile trailer or a bomb-proof shelter. Like the Matador, a

  • McDonnell Douglas Air-2A Genie Rocket

    The AIR-2A Genie is an air-to-air rocket with a nuclear warhead designed for use against formations of enemy bombers. It has no guidance system and is powered by a solid-propellant rocket motor. The AIR-2 (formerly known as the MB-1) was first test-launched in 1956 and became operational in January