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Newly minted Secretary of Defense James Mattis celebrated his first full day at the Pentagon by overseeing 31 strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Mattis entered the Pentagon Saturday with a smile for his first full day of work, and for good reason, considering the significant bombardment ISIS forces received. A variety of fighters, bombers and remotely piloted aircraft engaged in the bombing run, which saw 25 strikes in Syria and six in Iraq. In Syria, two strikes destroyed ISIS units and artillery near the town of Bab. ISIS forces in Raqqa, the terrorist group’s de facto capital,...

A video released by the Al Rahman Legion, a Syrian rebel group based in eastern Damascus, shows a very unusual weapon — a bespoke, truck-mounted cannon that wouldn’t be out of place on a battlefield centuries ago. Somewhere within the Al Rahman Legion, a weaponsmith has applied old-time design principles and a bit of physics to bolster the group’s firepower. This is also the third homemade cannon depicted on video released by the group, as two others appeared in September 2015 and February 2016.

MOSCOW --- The Russian Land Force's artillery brigades will begin receiving state-of-the-art Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled guns in the near future, chief of missile and artillery troops Maj. Gen. Mikhail Matveevsky said Friday. "The planned purchase and supply of these complexes into the artillery brigades will begin in the near future," Matveevsky said. Koalitsiya-SV was first unveiled at the Victory Day parade on May 9, 2015, in Red Square, Moscow. Matveevsky underscored the automated weapon's innovative multi-round simultaneous impact firing capabilities, delivering several volleys at various trajectories to engage a target at the same time. "The combat capabilities of the complex are...

The Russian Navy has decided to equip all of its small missile ships and boats with a unique high-precision digital 76 mm automatic gun, the Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted a Russian navy source as saying. Designed to contain NATO warships equipped with Italian-made Oto Melara guns, the АК-176МА is equipped with an all-weather electro-optical system which shares its characteristics with a sniper rifle, according to the source. It said that the new gun's combination of high ballistic performance with an electronic management control system add to the AK-176MA's complete superiority over its main competitor, the 76-mm gun made by the...

It was a chilly and damp autumn day on Nov. 9, 2015, as members of the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery’s Bravo Battery — the “Dragon Slayers” — stood in formation before their families at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. “The Dragon Slayers are going to one of the most complex and volatile regions on Earth,” Col. Joseph McCallion told the soldiers and their families. “Iraq.”

SIERRA VISTA — A representative from the Army Corps of Engineers revealed the findings Wednesday of a four-year munitions study of more than 1,500 acres in the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area (SPRNCA), southeast of the San Pedro House. The study was looking for live munitions or other environmental factors from World War II Army use that would impact the acreage. Two live explosives and fragments of explosives in the dense, thorny acreage were discovered. A third live explosive was carried out by a hiker and turned over to tlocal authorities. “It is not a hospitable site,” said 1st Lt....

Marine Corps implements force integration plan, graduates first female artillery officers Second Lt. Virginia Brodie points out an enemy position to 2nd Lt. Katherine Boy at the Field Artillery Basic Officers Leadership Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, May 12, 2016. Brodie and Boy are the first two female Marine artillery officers to complete the course. Photo By: Lance Cpl. Julien Rodarte The Marine Corps’ first female artillery officers graduated from the Field Artillery Basic Officers Leaders Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, recently. In the joint Army and Marine course, the Corps’ newest artillery officers met operationally relevant, gender-neutral military...

The Russian M240 240-millimeter mortar, along with its vehicle-mounted counterpart the 2S4 Tyulpan or “Tulip,” is possibly the largest-caliber tube artillery, not including rockets, used in combat today. Its massive shells were intended to smash apart heavy military fortifications, but just as often they have been employed to rain devastation upon densely-populated urban areas.

On March 19, U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant Louis Cardin, a field artilleryman assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, died during an attack on Fire Base Bell outside of Makhmur, Iraq. Coincidentally, the U.S. Army is hard at work developing a farther-firing howitzer that could help keep artillery troops out of range of enemy forces. The Army is cooking up a suite of improvements could double the range of the existing M-777 howitzer. Right now the 155-millimeter gun, in service with the Army and Marines, can lob shells at targets up to 18 miles away. The M-777ER version the...

On March 19, U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant Louis Cardin, a field artilleryman assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, died during an attack on Fire Base Bell outside of Makhmur, Iraq. Coincidentally, the U.S. Army is hard at work developing a farther-firing howitzer that could help keep artillery troops out of range of enemy forces. The Army is cooking up a suite of improvements could double the range of the existing M-777 howitzer. Right now the 155-millimeter gun, in service with the Army and Marines, can lob shells at targets up to 18 miles away.

So they want women in combat roles? Here is a Marine Arty unit sending 15 rounds, count em, 15 rounds down range in 2:40 with ONE, I say again ONE rammer, most guns have two! Not many people, let alone women can do what this rammer does! (Language caution) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdO_0twP_CU This is a nice one too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjGyt0Ga9Q

The Russian army is literally bringing its big guns to the war in Syria. U.S. military analysts said the decision to add artillery to the battlefield indicates a number of key developments, including the Kremlin’s growing influence in planning and executing Syrian military operations. It could be a sign that Russia is dedicated to a conventional ground war – not just air strikes – in support of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, a staunch ally long supported by Moscow.

Fellow Freepers, I am looking for the name and results of a late 1970's (perhaps 1980-81) field artillery experiment in which an all female gun crew were tested to see if they could sustain a required rate of fire. I am having trouble locating a copy of it or information on it. I remember Brian Mitchell wrote about it in his book Weak Link: The Feminization of the Military @1990 (I lent my copy out years ago and have not seen it since.) Any links would be greatly appreciated. V/R Bill

Military Sources, "About 50 N. Korean Submarines Left Their Bases...Can't be Located" 2015.08.23 15:23 /begin my translation Dozens of N. Korean submarines left their bases at both Eastern and Western coast, and can't be located. Military are increasing their surveillance capability to track them, it is confirmed. That accounts for 70% of (N. Korea's) submarine fleet, which totals 70 ships. This is the largest rate of deployment since the Korean War. Military sources said, "This is 10 times more than their normal deployment level. Dozens of them left their bases at both coasts, and we are unable to track them."...

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday declared his frontline troops in a "quasi-state of war" and ordered them to prepare for battle a day after the most serious confrontation between the rivals in years. South Korea's military on Thursday fired dozens of artillery rounds across the border in response to what Seoul said were North Korean artillery strikes meant to back up a threat to attack loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda.

BEIJING: The Chinese PLA has claimed that its artillery force rockets, capable of hitting targets at 150 kilometres, are far superior in terms of automation and firepower than those of its US and Russian counterparts and can "inflict a metal storm" on the enemy. "The power of each of my battalion's rocket launchers is equal to that of a whole battalion equipped with traditional artillery guns," said Wang, political supervisor of the rocket artillery battalions of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest standing army. "To be specific, each rocket can cover and destroy a vast area equivalent to...

N. Korea shifts entries of border-area howitzer bunkers northward SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has moved the entrances to the military's howitzer bunkers in the border area to a northward direction from the south, making it more difficult for South Korea and the U.S. to curb the howitzer attacks in a war situation, a government source said Sunday. "Changes have been detected in the shape of the bunkers for self-propelled guns, which belong to artillery units of the North's 4th Corps in Hwanghae Province," the government source said, asking not to be named. "Previously south-oriented doorways of the...

Russia's defense industry is developing new delayed-action detonators, which could allow for more effective strikes against ships. Russia's NIMI (Engineering Scientific Research Institute) is developing artillery shells with intellectual, programmable detonators which allow naval artillery to destroy enemy ships with one shot, institute department head Valery Lebedev told RIA Novosti. When the shell hits a ship, it first penetrates its hull and then detonates the shell following an optimal delay, delivering irreparable damage to the ship, according to Lebedev. The US Navy is also known to be developing a similar system within the framework of its MEMS microchip project. "The...

YouTube video of German World War II Era Wehrmacht Howitzer Used By Syrian Rebels On The Battlefield In Idlib

Could this be the answer to rocket launching terror cells in Gaza? The IDF is set receive a new model of a GPS-guided mortar shell, developed by Israel Military Industries. The weapon is designed to deliver a quick strike against terrorist cells, especially those in the Gaza Strip, and was given the original name "Morty" (Patzmi, a play on the Hebrew acronym for mortar). "Mortar shells were always considered an inaccurate weapon that hit only the target area and not the target itself," a security source told Ynet. "Turning the mortar shell into an accurate weapon with the help of...