Aircraft ordnance
Aircraft ordnance or ordnance (in the context of military aviation) is any expendable weaponry (e.g. bombs, missiles, rockets and gun ammunition) used by military aircraft. The term is often used when describing the payload of air-to-ground weaponry that can be carried by the aircraft or the weight that has been dropped in combat.[citation needed] Aircraft ordnance also includes air-to-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. Ordnance can be carried in a bomb bay or hung from a hardpoint.
Some aircraft types can carry a wide variety of ordnance – for example, the Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker could use forward-firing gun pods, 500 and 250 pound bombs, napalm units, cluster bomb units, flares, rockets, smoke grenades and propaganda leaflet dispensers.[1]
For many weapons there is a limit to the length of time they can be flown (e.g. because of vibration damage); after this their safety or effectiveness is not guaranteed. This can be a problem if weapons designed for high intensity conflict are carried on multiple missions in a long counter-insurgency campaign.[2]
History
[edit]The first recorded use of aircraft ordinance during a conflict was during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911. The Italian Army Air Corps Blériot XI and Nieuport IV used monoplanes to bomb a Turkish camp at Ain Zara in Libya.[3] The First World War which followed shortly after saw rapid development for aircraft and their corresponding ordinance.
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Guidance
[edit]
Ordnance can be divided into guided and unguided categories based on their targeting capabilities. Guided ordnance, such as precision-guided munitions (PGMs), use advanced technologies like GPS, infrared, radar or laser tracking to precisely hit designated targets.[4][5][6] Unguided ordnance, commonly known as "dumb bombs," lack guidance systems and rely on the aircraft’s release parameters to strike a target. Though less accurate, unguided bombs are often used for area strikes and are more cost-effective. [6]
Air-to-Ground vs. Air-to-Air Ordnance
[edit]Air-to-ground ordnance is a weapon that is fired or dropped from an aircraft to strike ground targets, such as the American Mk82 500 pound bomb or the Russian Kh-38.
Air-to-air ordnance is a weapon fired from an aircraft to strike air targets, such as the Chinese PL-15 or the French MICA. Note that bullets from machine guns don't count as either air-to-ground or air-to-air ordnances.
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (November 2025) |
See also
[edit]- List of aircraft weapons
- Strategic bombing during World War I
- Strategic bombing during World War I!
- Aerial bombing of cities
- Area bombing
- Airstrike
References
[edit]- ^ "Factsheets: Fairchild AU-23A". Nationalmuseum.af.mil. Archived from the original on 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
- ^ De-classified summary of conference at UK Joint Services Command and Staff College reported in Aerospace International (magazine) March 2011 page 24.
- ^ Buckley (1999), p. 8.
- ^ "Guest Editor's Introduction: Homing Missile Guidance and Control" (PDF). jhuapl.edu.
- ^ "Laser-Guided Bombs - Building LGB Capability". www.sps-aviation.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ a b "Precision-guided munitions". www.baesystems.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
Sources
[edit]- Buckley, J.D.; Buckley, J.J. (1999). Air Power in the Age of Total War. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21324-2. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
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