US Weapons Used in the Iraq War by Ground Troops

M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank

The M1 Abrams was the main battle tank used by US forces during the second Iraq war. The first of these tanks were delivered to the Army in 1980 after rigorous acceptance trials. By 1996 all serving M1s had been converted to M1A2s. The latest modifications feature a sandwich of steel and other composite materials able to withstand HEAT rounds and kinetic energy penetrating shells. The M1 offers a smaller and lower silhouette than previous tanks, is faster and far more maneuverable. The M1A2 has a crew of four comprising commander, gunner, loader and driver. Its main armament is a Rheinmetall M256 120 mm smoothbore cannon. Secondary armament consists of two M240 7.62 mm machine guns and one M2HB .50-caliber machine gun.

The M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle were the main fire support team vehicles employed in the second Iraq war. Their mission was to provide transport for a squad of infantry to important positions on the battlefield and to carry out cavalry scouting tasks. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle carries full armor and is fully tracked and able to keep up with the M1 tank. The Bradley is armed with a 25 mm "Bushmaster" chain gun firing armor piercing or high explosive ammunition, and can fire either single shots or bursts of 200 rounds per minute. It also carries two TOW anti tank missiles with a range of 4 kilometers. The Bradley has a crew of three, commander, gunner and driver, and can carry a squad of six troops.

The Paladin is the latest development in 155 mm self-propelled artillery. Development over previous versions includes onboard fire control and navigation systems, a Kevlar-lined chassis and a pressurized crew compartment. The Paladin uses "shoot and scoot" tactics in order to protect its crew from enemy fire. It can receive target information, compute firing figures, take up a firing position, fire and be back on the move all within 60 seconds. This is in comparison to the 35 to 40 minutes required with previous systems.

The Force XXI Battle Command system is a formidable weapon on the battlefield. It provides an awareness of the battle situation to commanders in the field. By making use of GPS and satellite communications, it gives real-time information to everyone in the field. The system has graphical displays that show friendly and enemy forces both on the ground and in the air. It identifies targets for unit commanders and integrates logistical support for friendly forces. The system even allows for the actual positions of individual soldiers, command posts and weapons to be displayed. The system allows for more than 1,000 computers to be tied together in a single, self-contained network.