A Guide to the World's Militaries, Suggested reading before fighting

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

TANKS

Role: Tanks are a staple of modern mobile warfare, and are most commonly used for breaching attacks. Their combination of firepower and protection makes them the ideal unit to place in front of any attacking force.
Additionally, as the best weapon against other tanks, they are also a staple of defense.

Advantages: No other unit matches them in the combination of mobility, protection, and firepower.

Disadvantages: Limited visibility for the crew inside leaves them vulnerable to attacks by infantry in restricted terrain. This also holds true for other unit types when camoflaged. They are also expensive to acquire, operate, and maintain. Finally, tanks are mainly good for engaging the enemy and breaking through defense lines. They cannot hold territory without support.



Types:

-Heavy Tank: Weighing in at 60 to over 70 tons (54.5-63.5+ tonnes), these are the meanest vehicles on the battlefield. Common to western militaries, they have the best armor protection of anything you'll see, and often have equal or better mobility compared to lighter units. They're also known for their high crew survival rates, and difficulty to completely destroy, thanks to advanced protection systems.

-Medium Tank: These generally run 45-55 tons, but the full range is 40-60 tons (36-54.5 tonnes). They have the same firepower and mobility of heavy tanks, but sacrifice armor and survivability features. That, combined with the more cramped internal space, makes them much more likely to suffer catestrophic damage from enemy fire. However, they're usually much cheaper and easier to mass produce. These are best known for their role in the former Soviet Union and all its successors and client states.

-Light Tank: Something of a rarity these days, this generally has slightly downgraded firepower compared to larger models (ie: 105mm instead of 120, 85mm instead of 100, etc) on a much smaller and lighter chassis. The result is decent firepower, but protection no better than APCs and reconnaissance vehicles. Few nations use these, and those that do have them primarily for terrain even a medium tank can't cross, such as mountains and marshes.

-Amphibious Tank: A subcategory of light tanks, these are small, thinly armored, and relatively lightly armed, but fully capable of swimming, at decent speeds even. They're good for river crossings and amphibious assaults where units need to traverse water without the help of bridges.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES

Role: These were initially designed to support tanks. The requirement was for an infantry transport vehicle that was fast enough to keep up with advancing tanks, survivable enough to fight on the front lines, and powerful enough to engage other armored vehicles and support its own infantry unit. Supporting tanks in mobile warfare is still their primary role, but many of these, especially the more capable ones, are often used on their own, as they can fight most units on relatively equal terms.

Advantages: These are cheaper than tanks, yet maintain excellent mobility and firepower, making them an effective combat vehicle even without the infantry squad. Compared to the APCs they partially replaced, they're more survivable and better able to support dismounted infantry. Most are also equipped with ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) to give them the ability to fight off heavy armored units.

Disadvantages: Anything that can kill a tank can kill an IFV (or two, or three) even better, and then add on many things that can't kill a tank. Unsupported, these do not fare well against heavy weapons. There's also a much greater chance that a penetrating hit will do significant damage due to the inclusion of the infantry squad's munitions, and the infantry squad itself providing more potential casualties.
Finally, while equipped with them, all IFVs must stop to fire ATGMs, leaving them vulnerable.



TYPES:

-Heavy IFV: Weighing in at around 25 to 40 tons (22.7-36 tonnes), these are among the heaviest armored vehicles out there outside of tanks, with some units boasting optional add-on armor that brings them as high as 47 tons (43 tonnes), or on par with many medium tanks. Naturally they have high survivability, and can take most light and medium vehicle-mounted weapons with ease. Their only weakness is that their weight reduces strategic, and to a lesser degree, tactical mobility, at least compared to their lighter cousins.

-Medium IFV: These generally fall in the 12-25 ton (11-22.7 tonne) range. Like the medium tanks, these generally have similar mobility and armament to their heavier cousins, but lack armor. Most of these are vulnerable even to light cannons, only providing true protection against machine gun fire. In short, they're not much more survivable than APCs, just better armed. One of the greatest advantages of medium IFVs is that many are fully amphibious, and thus much more useful in amphibious and river crossing operations.

-Airborne IFV: A sub-category of medium IFVs, most of these are developed from the latter, and most are Russian. Early models just reduce weight (and armor) and reinforce suspension to allow the vehicles to be air dropped. Early variants had to be dropped seperately from the crews, but the most modern units are capable of being dropped with the crew inside, and thus moving into the fight almost immediately. While less capable than most IFVs, these are far above the air-dropped trucks that most other airborne forces are limited to.

-Converted APC: A sub-category of medium IFVs, these take advantage of the versatility of older armored personnel carriers, and pretty much just stick an armored turret on the top to increase firepower, with maybe some automotive and/or armor upgrades. Dramatically cheaper than building new units, these are quite popular in many countries with large mechanized forces. Some of these designs are rather cheap and of minimal capability, but others, such as the Egyptian EIFV, are extremely powerful, especially given their cost.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

ARMORED RECONNAISANCE VEHICLES

Role: Reconnaissance units have the unenviable task of moving ahead of the main forces and actually finding the enemy. Since this tends to involve getting shot at, mating armor and reconnaissance is kind of obvious. Reconnaissance units have a lot of tasks, but it's too long of a list to fully provide and explain.

Advantages: Since there's so much variety here, it's hard to peg a set that applies for all, but most of these units are very fast, small, and relatively inexpensive. They also tend to be quie well armed for their size.

Disadvantages: Despite their need for survivability, speed tends to take precedence. At best, these are equal to IFVs in protection levels.



Types

-Recon/Assault Gun: A hybrid unit, which is essentially a wheeled light tank, being similar in both protection and firepower. These were designed to provide heavy firepower and operate as not only recon, but also anti-tank and fire support vehicles. Most have 90 or 105mm guns, though both larger (120mm) and smaller (76mm) can be found in some variants, depending on the age of the design.

-Heavy Recon: Often based on IFVs, these use the same light cannons and have similar armor and firepower. In fact, the most notable designs, the Soviet/Russian BRM and the US M3 Bradley, are almost identical to the IFVs they were derived from. This provides a benefit in that enemy forces that encounter them cannot distinguish the screening recon units from the advance elements of the main force.

-Light Recon: Tiny units, usually weighing well under 10 tons (9 tonnes), these are highly mobile, highly deployable, and highly vulnerable. They rely almost entirely on their small size and speed to survive, mostly by avoiding detection in the first place. Many are only lightly armed, a few machine guns at most, but a few, amazingly enough, have small turrets sporting light cannons.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS

Role: The most prolific and ubiquitous of all armored vehicles, the truth is that these, when specialized variants are included, do just about everything. The originally envisioned role was to provide a transport vehicle for infantry that could protect them from rifle and machine gun fire, at least until they dismounted. But with modifications, these have done everything from engineering work to NBC Recon (Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical), smoke generation, even antitank and air defense.

Advantages: These are cheap, plentiful, and easily modified to suit most roles. What more could you ask for?

Disadvantages: Well, they're not well protected, and older designs tend to be a bit slow compared to tanks. That's about it.



Types:
Actually, this is simply a listing of more common combat modifications. There's no real sub-types unless you consider things like tracked VS wheeled (adressed later) or airborne units.

-ATGM Carrier: Both the Soviet Union and US built modified versions of their APCs to fire heavy antitank missiles in support of infantry units that might otherwise lack such weapons. You'll basically see a turret with 2-8 missiles ready to fire, and probably additional missiles inside. I don't think anyone builds these anymore, but the US ones especially are quite widely proliferated.

-Mortar Carrier: These mount an 81, 82, 107, or 120mm infantry mortar on a turntable, that fires through a roof hatch. They also carry the mortar crew and ammunition. The most common versions are the 120mm ones, and these are everywhere. They're often used in armored and mechanized battalions to provide a degree of organic fire support.

-Air Defense Vehicle: Some mount an AA gun, others a light SAM launcher, and a few just carry and infantry squad equipped with shoulder-fired SAMs. Whatever they do, they provide defense against aircraft for mobile formations.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

FIELD ARTILLERY

Role: Field artillery (aka gun or tube artillery) has been a staple of warfare for the past century. Basically, it provides heavy, indirect fire to suppress or eliminate ground formations and fortifications. It has been a primary source of casualties in most of the wars fought in the past 100 years.

Advantages: The ability to provide indirect fire is critical for engaging dug-in forces that are either behind an obstacle or just entrenched. These units are generally rather cheap for the effect they have on the battlefield, particularly psychological, and are an essential part of any assault.

Disadvantages: Artillery guns take time to set up and take down, and are extremely vulnerable to almost anything that shoots at them. Artillery rounds can be tracked in mid-air and ballistically traced to their point of origin, meaning that against a well-equipped opponent, they have only a few minutes of firing at most before they have to move.



Types:

-Self-Propelled: These represent a gun, almost always 155mm or 152mm, that has been mounted in an enclosed turret on an armored chassis. These are able to withstand infantry small-arms and shell splinters from opposing artillery rounds. Modern units have very low emplacement and displacement times, as well as high rate of fire and excellent range. These units provide indirect fire support for armored and mechanized units.
While almost all current units are in 155 or 152mm, lighter (122 & 105mm) and heavier (203 & 175mm) versions were made up through the 1970s, and can still be found in many less modern militaries.

-Truck-Mounted: A sub-category of self-propelled, these were first seen in the Second World War, but virtually disappeared until making a comeback in recent years. Modern versions involve putting a top-of-the-line 155mm gun on a truck chassis to provide better mobility. They don't have the protection of armored units, or even the integral ammunition storage, but have greater strategic and tactical mobility, and are far beyond the normal towed units.

-Towed Field Guns: Older weapons used to be categorized as either field guns (longer range, flatter trajectory) or field howitzers (shorter range, arcing trajectory). The distinction has virtually disappeared in modern weapons, but many older ones exist. The most notable field guns are former Soviet 180mm, 152mm and 130mm weapons, the last one being one of the most popular and widely proliferated artillery guns in the world.

-Towed Howitzers: Briefly touched on above, these have shorter barrels, less range, but a more arcing trajectory, which is better for hitting targets behind obstacles. Most weapons in service are either howitzers or gun/howitzer hybrids. Common calibers are 155 & 105mm (western), and 152mm & 122mm (eastern). Both sides use heavier 203mm in modest numbers. Vast numbers of weapons can be found in less modern armies.
In modern service, these are mostly found in airborne and airmobile units, which need lighter weapons that can be airdropped or transported via helicopter. Some nations with a defensive emphasis also use many of these due to their lower cost compared to self-propelled units.

-Pack Howitzers: Quite simple really. These are light guns that can be broken up into pieces that are light enough that a pack animal (mule, camel, etc) can carry them. These are usually 75mm, though 105mm weapons do exist. You mainly only find them in armies that operate in extremely mountainous terrain or thick jungles, where there's no way any other kind of artillery is coming along with the troops.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

ROCKET ARTILLERY

Role: Rocket artillery consists of relatively simple launch rails with a number of large, unguided rockets. It's most notable in that it delivers a tremendous amount of ordnance in a very short period. As such, they are often used for their high shock value. A few nations even use them as an alternative to tube artillery because of their strengths.
Larger weapons are also used as long-range strike units against rear area targets.

Strengths: These weapons provide tremendous firepower in a very short period, in some cases over 10 times what even the best artillery guns can manage in the same period. They're also very simple to operate, and usually have minimal emplacement and displacement times. This makes them both powerful and survivable on modern battlefields.
Larger weapons, while lacking the sheer volume of fire of the more common units, are the longest-ranged artillery systems out there (short of ballistic missiles), and excellent for striking deep targets.

Weaknesses: The main weakness is that, while they have high volume of fire in a short period, they spend much more time reloading. However, that is a function of expending ammunition loads more quickly as much as reload rates. Against modern forces, rockets are also much easier to counter than artillery shells because of larger size and their fuel load.



Types:

-Heavy MRL: Thes fire large rockets with diameters in the 200-350mm range, and usually a normal load of 4-12 rockets. The large rocket size and small launcher load dictates that these almost always use submunition warheads, and also allows these have ranges at least matching, and often significantly exceeding, the best artillery guns. They're primarily tasked with counter-battery fire or hitting deep targets like command centers, resupply points, and troop assembly areas.

-Medium MRL: The most commonly seen type, these include a number of weapons usually between 100 and 140mm in diameter. The number of tubes tends to be either 36 or 40, though ones with 18, 21, and 30 tubes have also appeared. Ranges are around 15-20 kilometers for older units, and 30-40+ for the most modern variants, which puts them about equal to artillery guns of the time. Most of these use standard high-explosive (unitary) warheads, though a few variants are equipped with submunitions. The role in this case is usually bombarding forward positions, and with the low cost and high effectiveness of units like the Russian BM-21, many militaries actually use these instead of artillery guns.

-Light MRL: Ranging from 70-130mm, these are relatively small, very short range (under 10 km) rockets that are easily deployed, and are often found in towed variants or as a simple add-on to trucks and APCs. These are often found as part of combat formations, rather than separately like heavier units, and provide organic fire support on the spot. Most launchers have around 12 tubes, but some interesting designs fire as few as 1 rocket.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

SELF-PROPELLED AIR DEFENSE

Role: We're specifically referring to the tracked or wheeled units that mount most, if not all, of the equipment necessary for engaging aircraft on a combat vehicle. These are intended to advance with armored and mechanized units, and defend them against air attack. Many also have capabilities against secondary targets like cruise missiles, infantry, light vehicles, artillery shells, and even tanks in one case.

Advantages: Your mobile formations don't get shot up by attack aircraft, flanked by airmobile forces, or annoyed by the buzzing of overflying transports. They also help deal with pesky UAVs.

Disadvantages: A self-propelled unit that is capable of engaging aircraft while moving at combat speeds has not yet been invented. All units have to at least slow down, and most must stop completely, before engaging. Most of these are also relatively vulnerable to stand-off attacks, as their weapons have limited range (2-25 km, depending on the system).
Finally, these things are phenominally expensive. Even the cheapest modern ones can easily run $10 million per vehicle.



Types

-Radar-Guided Missile: Though usually used on longer-range systems, a few high-profile units actually use these for short-range defense. The main advantage is that Radar provides longer detection ranges and works in any weather conditions. It also allows for a separate unit to guide the missile if need be, providing both redundancy and increased survivability. The main disadvantage is that radar invites antiradiation missiles. Vehicles radars also tend to have a higher target profile, and are thus more vulnerable to ground fire.

-IR-Guided Missile: The most common means of guiding short-range missiles, these have come a long way since the early units. These tend to be shorter-ranged, only 5-15 km depending on the missile, but can track and fire without any electronic emissions, which makes them harder to counter. These also allow for very small and light launch vehicles, such as the US Avenger.

-Optically-Guided Missile: These are very difficult to use, and not really optimal against combat aircraft, but have still seen use in the anti-helicopter role, and as backups for other systems. Technically, this is called radio command guidance, and can be done by a radar, but in this case, we're talking about ones tracked physically by a gunner much like older antitank missiles. The advantage is that it's completely passive, and there's often little or no warning for targeted aircraft.

-Gun/Missile Hybrid: The Russians love this. It adds an AA gun system for close in and ground targets (and to allow firing on the move), and short-range missiles to hit targets further out. Other countries have also developed modifications for purpose-built gun systems that include launchers for shoulder-fired SAMs (usually 4 weapons, occasionally 6). These are excellent all-around weapons systems.

-Self-Propelled AA Gun: These used to be quite popular, but almost no pure SPAAG units are being built now to my knowledge. Most nations have transitioned to light SAM systems, a few have upgraded their AA guns with SAMs (see above), and most of those with remaining AA guns have had them for decades. These are good in that they're very cheap compared to SAMs due to the fact that even the cheapest missile costs as much as several thousand AA shells. On the other hand, these are VERY short ranged (2-4 km), and generally less likely to shoot an aircraft down.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

AREA AIR DEFENSE

Role: These units are designed to provide protection for relatively stationary targets, and in some cases, cover the forward battlefield area. They engage aircraft mostly at high and medium altitudes, and at distances exceeding 30 kilometers. Secondary targets often include ballistic and/or cruise missiles.

Advantages: The long range in and of itself provide a significant obstacle for air operations, and with later models with integrated systems, there may even be over-the-horizon engagement capability. Even less advanced ones can still separate launchers and radars to both provide increased coverage and better survivability. They're also much cheaper than aircraft for controlling airspace.

Disadvantages: Most are not very mobile, taking considerable time to set up, and most are also limited by the horizon, allowing low-altitude penetration by helicopters and some strike aircraft, which can engage with standoff weapons. Antiradiation missiles and jamming are also regular problems. And while less costly to operate than aircraft, they can't so much control airspace as deny it to the enemy.



Types:

-ABM System: Among the most expensive single purchases that can be made, these are equipped with powerful radars and extremely advanced missiles intended to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. Many are also fully capable of engaging aircraft, either with the same or different weapons.

-Mobile: There are a handful of medium and long range systems that are actualy completely mobile. They take much less time to set up, and a single unit carries most of the systems and equipment needed to track and engage targets. These are less capable than the fixed and semi-mobile units, but can actually cover advancing ground forces.

-Semi-Mobile: Most modern systems fall into this category. They're highly capable, but use large trucks or semi-trailers to mount everything, and usually take quite some time to set up for operations - up to several hours. Some components, however, may be able to relocate independently to a degree.

-Fixed: It's been decades since any truly modern military relied on these, but in the third world, you'll find more of this type than anything else. Relatively simple and cheap, they have the weakness of that their locations are usually already known or relatively easily discovered, and once discovered, they are easily dealt with since they can't move. That, however, doesn't mean they can't hurt anyone!

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

TOWED AIR DEFENSE

Role: In modern armies, towed antiaircraft weapons can still be found as point defense for fixed installations, such as airfields, that tend to be overflown directly when attacked. They're also often part of less advanced air defense networks, and are particularly useful for protecting area air defense units from helicopters and strike aircraft.
In less modern armies, they're also used to protect front-line units, in lieu of more advanced weapons.

Advantages: These are relatively cheap, simple, and easy to operate. AA guns also have very long service lives, and can, with fire control upgrades, remain viable for decades, making them a good investment for third world armies.

Disadvantages: First off, they're mostly very short ranged units, <15 km for SAMs and usually under 5 km for AA guns. This also means they have limited ability to hit aircraft at medium and high altitudes. Other problems include mobility, and the fact that most leave their crew in the open, and are thus more vulnerable to bombs and indirect fire.



Types:

-Towed SAM: A handful of short-range SAM systems are in fact towed, and used more for airfield defense than frontline units. There are often self-propelled variants of the same systems, but even towed versions can see service in modern armies.

-Heavy AA Gun: Massive weapons with a bore diameter exceeding 60mm, these fell largely out of favor after WWII, except in the Soviet Union, which introduced several in the 1950s. Numerous WWII-era weapons are in service around the world, along with quite a few of the later Soviet models. These have impressive range - as much as 20 km against aircraft, and can also operate as artillery and destroy light armor, making them versatile. On the other hand, they have huge crews and limited ability to engage modern combat aircraft.

-Medium AA Gun: Somewhat more manageable weapons in the 40-60mm range, they're a little less versatile than their larger cousins, but much easier to move around, and better for targeting high-speed aircraft. Some, like the Bofors 40mm L/70, are even still in production. Effective range is typically 5-10 km.

-Light AA Gun: These are what dominate the field in this category. Ranging from 20-40mm, they typically have effective ranges of 2-5 km, and are most suitable for the modern battlefield due to their small size and high rate of fire. Many of these weapons have multiple barrels to further improve rate of fire.

-AA Machine Gun: A handful of truly dedicated AA guns are actually little more than heavy machine guns, often grouped in pairs or even quartets. These tend not to have automated tracking or fire control, so they're not much of a threat to fixed-wing combat aircraft, but a helicopter could get torn to shreds if it's not careful.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

MANPORTABLE MISSILES

Role: The biggest problem infantry have is that things like tanks and aircraft are kind of difficult to engage with rifles and grenades. These are missile systems intended for use by infantry to fight things that they are traditionally weak against.

Advantages: They give infantry the ability to fend off their greatest enemies on the battlefield. They're also inexpensive enough that they may be used as a substitute for heavy vehicles, especially on the defense.

Disadvantages: Manportable in no way means that it can be carried for long distances by men in the field. In fact, many of these are usually mounted on light vehicles rather than carried around. Also, unlike armored units, anything that can distract or injure the infantryman can suppress these, especially if they need guidance after launch.



Types:

-Heavy ATGM: Weapons like the US TOW and Russian Konkurs (AT-5). Combined missile and launcher weigh in at over 25 kg, and are thus usually carried by truck or mounted on vehicles rather than lugged around by infantry. However, especially for short distances, they can do so. These are designed to engage even the heaviest tanks at ranges of over 3.5 km.

-Medium ATGM: These are more common missile systems in infantry use, which weigh less than half as much as the heavy units and can thus be carried around with much less trouble. Most still engage even heavy tanks, but at reduced ranges, usually 2-3 km.

-Light ATGM: These aren't quite as common (though catching on), but weigh significantly less than even the medium weapons, often only a few kg, and typically are good out to 0.5-1.5 km, depending on the design. Many of these are different from their larger cousins in that they don't need a launcher mount, significantly reducing overall weight. Several are fired from disposable launch tubes like many unguided rockets.

-MANPADS: MAN-Portable Air Defense System, a funny way of saying shoulder-fired SAM. These have short ranges of only 5-10 km, but are relatively light weight and provide the primary defense against aircraft for modern infantry.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

Naval Forces Equipment Overview


This segment is intended for players who want to RP actual combat, but aren't as familiar with military equipment. It's here to provide a brief introduction to the various classes of combat systems and their roles, along with some of the key advantages and disadvantages of specific types of each. I will not go into much depth here, but will hopefully give enough to help out.



Aircraft Carriers
All ships whose primary role is the operation of aircraft. It includes the following classes:

Fleet Carriers

Light Carriers



Major Surface Combatants
A broad classification consisting of all non-submarine combat vessels over 2000 tons. Specifically, it includes the following modern ship classes:

Cruisers

Destroyers

Frigates



Minor Surface Combatants
Ships and boats that displace under 2000 tons. Consists of the following classes:

Corvettes

Fast Attack Craft



Submarines
Those ships that ride beneath the waves.

Missile Submarines

Nuclear Attack Submarines

Conventional Submarines



Amphibious Vessels
Ships whose primary role is to deliver amphibious assault troops (usually Marines) to hostile shores.

Helicopter Landing Ship

Dock Landing Ship

Tank Landing Ship

Air Cushion Landing Vessel

Landing Craft



Weapons

Antiship Missiles

Naval Air Defense

Antisubmarine Weapons

Naval Mines

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

FLEET CARRIERS

Role: These floating air bases are the ultimate form of naval power projection. Armed with several squadrons of front-line combat aircraft, they can dominate the sea for hundreds of kilometers and range far inland to boot. Currently, a grand total of four nations operate fleet carriers, with 3/4 of those in service in the US Navy. Another three nations are expected to have fleet carriers in the next 10 years.

Advantages: They have maximum flexibility, as not only can the aircraft have loads changed to suit the missions, but even the number and types of aircraft carried are highly flexible. And with over 40 aircraft, they can have quite a bit of variety.

Disadvantages: Their extremely high profile (cost, power, and crew are all through the roof) to make them highly sought after targets. Furthermore, they have minimal defenses, and are extremely vulnerable to damage due to the vast quantities of fuel and munitions carried. Also, carriers are the single most expensive piece of military equipment that can be procured, usually costing several billion dollars, and several hundred million per year to operate.



Types:

-Nuclear Powered: Most US carriers, and one foreign one (France), use this. It gives the advantage of much higher sustained speed and operational endurance, and since it doesn't require the large fuel storage of conventional power plants, it leaves more space for fuel, munitions, and other supplies. On the other hand, these cost significantly more, and the "threat" of reactor leaks, especialy in the event of an attack, is a political issue. Also, since there are no nuclear-powered escorts, the higher sustained speed is only marginally useful.

-Conventionally Powered: In addition to the three already in service, all non-US ships entering service in the coming decades will use conventional steam turbines, which have a larger logistical footprint, but are easier and "safer."

-CATOBAR: Acronym for Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (a mouthful, isn't it?), this system uses a special catapult system to boost the speed of aircraft, allowing them to take off in shorter distances. Then, for landing, they use a group of wires that a hook on the aircraft catches to slow it down and reduce landing distance.
All current and former US and French carriers use this system, and the future UK ones will have an option to be converted to it. The benefits are that it can accommodate larger conventional aircraft with heavier payloads. But it is more expensive by a few hundred million.

-STOBAR: Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery. See, the second part is the same as the first. The difference is that these ones use a "ski jump" that gives aircraft a slight boost as they come to the edge of the flight deck. Naturally, it's nothing compared to CATOBAR in terms of assistance, and is limited by the need to maintain a better thrust to weight ratio, thus limiting what planes can carry. It still uses conventional aircraft though, and is significantly cheaper than CATOBAR. Currently, Russia is the only nation operating such units, but most future ones, including Indian, Russian, and Chinese designs, will use this system.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

LIGHT CARRIERS

Role: A step down (well, more like 2 or 3) from fleet carriers, these are have only a fraction of the procurement and operating costs of their larger cousins. These are about 1/3 the size: usually 10,000-30,000 tons instead of 30,000-90,000+. They perform many of the same roles, but in a more limited capacity. 6 nations currently use such ships, but one (India) is getting rid of them in the near future.

Advantages: They provide good power projection themselves, but cost a whole lot less than their larger cousins. Generally, light carriers cost less than 1/5 as much as large fleet ones like the Nimitz.

Disadvantages: All the same vulnerability problems as fleet carriers, with the added issue of aircraft. Not only are their complements much smaller, but the planes themselves are restricted to STOVL and V/STOL aircraft, with both having limited options for procurement (US, UK, or cry) and reduced strike capabilities.



Types:

-STOVL: Short Take-Off & Vertical Landing. These units are most easily noted by the ski jump at the bow, just as in STOBAR carriers (in fact, those copied it from STOVL units). This allows specialized aircraft like the US/UK Harrier and future F-35B to take off with a decent weapons load, though they usually still have to land vertically.

-Helicopter Carrier: Some carriers are optimized only for helicopters. Aircraft like the Harrier can still operate from them with a very light load, but they're mostly just helicopter platforms, and usually used either to support amphibious assault operations (ferrying troops and supplies) or as mobile ASW patrol bases, as they can embark a large number of ASW helicopters.


NOTE: Light carriers are often difficult to distinguish from helicopter landing ships, a class that they have significant overlap with. For simplicity, we will dictate that if it does not have a well deck, it is a carrier. If it does, it's an amphibious vessel. By this definition, vessels like the Spanish Juan Carlos I and Australian Canberra class are amphibious assault ships, NOT carriers.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

CRUISERS

Role: Cruisers are large surface warships, usually 8-12,000 tons, but with some units exceeding 20,000. These actually have one of two roles, depending on the design. The original role, maintained through WWII, and up through today in a few nations, was as a largely independent force projection vessel able to take on most opponents. Later, guided missile cruisers came to the fore, and were tasked primarily with providing air defense for the fleet. Only a handful of nations still operate cruisers, and with the demise of the US CGX program, no more are expected to be built in the forseeable future.

Advantages: All cruisers are big, powerful, and a major threat to most other surface vessels. They still remain a symbol of maritime power.

Disadvantages: Most cruiser roles are now filled by smaller vessels, which can do the same things at much lower cost. They also tend to be vulnerable to submarines and/or aircraft.



Types

-Battlecruisers: Actually, this is technically an inaccurate term, but is what has become popular. It specifically refers to the massive Kirov class vessels, two of which remain in service with the Russian navy. These vessels are the most powerful surface warships still on active duty, and are armed with a massive array of missiles for engaging any type of threat. However, their primary targets are surface warships.

-Specialized Cruisers: A handful of older Russian designs are built around a specific role - antiship for the Slava/Moskva class, and antisubmarine for the Kara class. These retain defenses against other threats, but are primarily intended to operate relatively independently, hunting down their specified opponents on the high seas.

-Guided Missile Cruisers: Optimized for fleet air defense, particularly the protection of carrier and amphibious groups, the United States is the only nation that ever really used these to any degree, and eventually intends to replace them with more versatile "destroyers" which are based on the same hull and of similar displacement. Hmmm.

-Gun Cruisers: These practically disappeared starting in the 1950s, but one remains in service: Peru's Almirante Grau. It provides naval gunfire support, and is the most capable vessel in its role in the world - and the last of its kind.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

DESTROYERS

Role: Typically displacing 5000-10,000 tons, Destroyers are, historically, the most ubiquitous vessels in the fleet. However, in modern navies, they've actually become akin to the cruisers of yesteryear - powerful combatants that are the epitome of naval power.

Advantages: They're very flexible, extremely capable, and relatively inexpensive compared to larger cruisers. They can perform most missions effectively.

Disadvantages: They still cost a lot, and are often seen as large targets. Politics actually dictates that many destroyers be called "frigates" to make them feel cheaper. And frigates actually can fill most of their roles at lower cost.



Types

Guided Missile Destroyers: Typically running 6000-10,000+ tons, these are the largest surface combatants in widespread service, with about a dozen nations operating or about to receive them. Their primary role is escorting larger vessels, particularly carriers, but possibly also amphibious forces. To that end, their focus is usually on a mix of antiaircraft and antisubmarine capabilities.

Multirole Destroyers: Something of a jack-of-all trades vessel, these have moderate to good capability against ships, submarines, and aircraft, and are intended to form the backbone of smaller scale operations, and provide backup for other units in major fleet operations.

Specialized Destroyers: Rarely produced nowadays, these were popular in the Soviet Union, and several designs are still running around. They maintain moderate multirole capability, but focus primarily on a specific area like antisubmarine (Udaloy I) or antiship (Sovremenny)

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FRIGATES

Role: Modern frigates evolved from specialized escorts in WWII, which were smaller ships primarily tasked with protecting merchant vessels, especially from submarines. These ships were between a corvette and destroyer in size. Modern vessels form the backbone of most navies, as they're relatively inexpensive yet still capable, and are the smallest vessels that can truly be called multirole.
It should be noted that the current trend in Europe is to call any major surface combatant a "frigate," so to avoid confusion, I would say anything much more than 5000 tons is a destroyer in everything but name.

Advantages: These are the most inexpensive ships that can be used for power projection, and are just large enough to still be flexible.

Disadvantages: Their small size limits the systems that can be carried, and also leaves them much more vulnerable to missiles, torpedos, and mines than destroyers or cruisers.



Types

-Guided Missile Frigate: While most guided missile "frigates" are in fact destroyers, there are a few exceptions, such as the Fridtjof Nansen class. These are usually a bit under their larger destroyer bretheren, with less powerful radars and shorter range missile. They're nonetheless powerful warships.

-Multirole Frigate: The most common type nowadays, it has decent capabilities in all areas, but in many cases is more optimized for dealing with less advanced navies or smaller ships. In some cases, the "multirole" may be little more than token defenses like short-range SAMs. Still, these are popular power projection vessels due to their low cost.

-ASW Frigate: The traditional role of the frigate has, since WWII, been antisubmarine warfare, and it shows. Specialized vessels exist in that area to this day.

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CORVETTES

Role: Small and inexpensive, yet large enough to have some desgree of endurance, corvettes provide the backbone of many smaller navies. They range in size from 450 to 2500 tons, and are the smallest vessels that can perform multiple roles.

Advantages: They're cheap, and the small size can combine with stealth features to make them highly survivable. These are also the smallest ships that can embark helicopters. These make excellent inshore and short-range sea control vessels.

Disadvantages: The small size means that there's minimal space in the vessel. As such, they lack the extensive sensor suites of larger ships, and their actual effectiveness tends to be dilluted when designed to fight multiple target types equally. Even ones pegged as "multirole" are not truly such.



Types

-Multipurpose Corvettes: Displacing 1500-2500 tons, these are sometimes called light frigates, and naturally used to be more closely associated with larger frigates, but have eventually found themselves classified as corvettes. These are usually slightly more multirole capable, equipped with short range air defense plus either an antiship or antisubmarine focus. They almost always embark helicopters.

-ASW Corvettes: Small ships designed to fight submarines in the inshore and littoral environments, these have little more than point defense against air and/or surface targets, devoting everything to their primary task. While new vessels are not as common, the Soviet Union built dozens, and they were widely proliferated.

-Missile Corvettes: Essentially large missile boats, they're totally devoted to engaging surface targets. These are popular inshore patrol craft, as they generally carry short range air/missile defense systems, improving survivability compared to smaller fast attack craft.

-Patrol Corvettes: Very hard to differentiate from other patrol vessels, these usually have only gun armament, but are equipped with some military systems, such as radar or sonar. They have minimal ability to fight warships on their own, but may be able to be refitted with missiles.

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FAST ATTACK CRAFT

Role: These are very small, cheap vessels that provide coastal defense against larger ships. Their role is to quickly get in range of enemy ships, fire their missiles, and get away, hopefully before they can be successfully engaged.

Advantages: These are fast, cheap, and certainly capable of doing tremendous damage to other ships when used properly.

Disadvantages: These are one-trick ponies. If something they're not designed to deal with, such as aircraft, come after them, they don't have much they can do. They're also fairly short ranged, so you'll often find most of them only leaving port once a threat appears, leaving them vulnerable to surprise attack. Also, their sensors are short-ranged, and a larger sensor network including things like AWACS makes it very hard to operate them effectively, as surprise and numbers are their only weapons.



Types

-Fast Attack Missile Boats: The only kind you'll find still in production, these generally have 4-8 antiship missiles as their primary armament, and maybe a gun. Speeds are often over 40 knots, exceeding 60 in some cases, and these ships can be extremely small - some are less than 100 tons.

-Torpedo Boats: Before the advent of the missile, these were the primary form of fast attack craft. Armed with 2-6 torpedoes, they would run in close and drop their weapons before turning around, just like in WWII. Today, they're completely obsolete, but a number of navies still operate them due to inability to afford anything better.

-Submarine Chasers: Really, China and its customers are the only ones using this kind of vessel, which disappeared shortly after WWII. They're small, fast ships equipped with sonar and ASW weapons. They generally have no air defense or antiship capability.

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MISSILE SUBMARINES

Role: Terror beneath the waves, these vessels are designed to transport and fire long-range attack missiles to strike deep targets with relative impunity. It's that simple.

Advantages: These have 70% of the earth's surface to hide under, and are among the quietest submarines out there due to their high profile. This, combined with their extreme firepower, makes them among the most feared ships in the sea.

Disadvantages: If they are located and tracked, they're somewhat less capable of defending themselves than attack submarines. They're also very expensive, and highly sought after targets.



Types

-SSBN (Ship, Submersible, Ballistic missile, Nuclear-powered): The ultimate naval power, and the most effective form of nuclear deterrent - they could be anywhere, they will survive even a perfect nuclear first strike, and in current ships, they can hit most of the world from most locations. Currently, 42 of these are operated by 5 nations, 1/3 of them US vessels. India will be the 6th, and probably last, nation to employ these.

-SSGN: Similar to SSBNs, these are equipped with cruise missiles instead of ballistic ones. In Russian service, such vessels are usually optimized for the antisip role, using large missiles like the P-700 Granit, which is almost as big as an SLBM. while US vessels are modified Ohio class units loaded with massive numbers of Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. No other nations operate these.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINES

Role: The SSN is a staple of overseas operations. Able to deploy rapidly at speeds exceeding 30 knots, equipped with advanced sensors and weapons (including cruise missiles), it is the main offensive weapon operating beneath the surface.

Advantages: Unlike conventional submarines, these can deploy quickly to a troubled area while remaining submerged. Also, being much larger than conventional submarines, they have correspondingly enhanced weapons loads and superior sensors. Most importantly, they can spend months underwater without coming anywhere near the surface.

Disadvantages: These cost several times as much as conventional submarines, and while capable of exceeding 30 knots, their tactical speed is often far less to avoid generating too much noise.



Types

-Large SSN: Displacing over 7000 tons submerged, and equipped with over 30 weapons in a mix of cruise missiles and torpedoes, these are the epitome of undersea force projection.

-Medium SSN: Displacing 3500-7000 tons submerged, these only have about 20 weapons, give or take, and were popular in Europe during the cold war. The problem is that today, they don't cost much less than the larger units, so there's not much benefit in keeping small. Thus, most navies are retiring them in favor of larger boats.

-Small SSN: These little wonders are as small as, and even smaller than some conventional submarines. Naturally, with only 12-18 weapons and the lower cost-effectiveness of sticking nuclear propulsion on such small vessels, they are on their way out. In fact, the only nations that built them were the USSR and France. The former retired its Alfa class boats over a decade ago, and France will be dumping its Rubis units in the coming decade.

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CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINES

Role: Conventional submarines are primarily defensive vessels whose job is to protect the inshore and littoral areas from other submarines and surface vessels. Also, due to their extreme stealth, a few smaller ones are specialized for inserting special forces.

Advantages: They cost only a fraction as much as nuclear powered boats, and are in fact much quieter and harder to detect due to their small size and lack of constant reactor noise.

Disadvantages: Even the best vessels have very short submerged endurance, about 2-3 weeks at minimal speed, and at full combat speed and maneuvering, it's measured in hours. Older ones are a third of that, and for all of them, once they've reached their limit, they must come close the surface and run diesel engines to recharge in an extremely noisy process called "snorting" or "snorkeling" which leaves them easily detectable by a number of means. Naturally, they're poor for deploying deep into hostile territory.



Types

-AIP Submarine: The big revolution in submarine design that popped up in the '90s, AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) is a catchall for a number of systems that allow a submarine's batteries to be recharged without sorkeling. This extends the endurance to 2-3 weeks at low speed, and actually leaves these capable of limited offensive operations. However, due to their low speed, they primarily work by ambush, placing themselves in an area that enemy vessels are expected to pass through and waiting.

-Patrol Submarine: SSK under US classification, this is the category that most current submarines fall under. As the name suggests, their job is to patrol local waters since they're only good for a few days on batteries. These vessels, even more so than AIP boats, rely on ambush tactics since they're too slow to even change position for intercepts.

-Coastal Submarine: Even smaller than patrol submarines (under 1000 tons submerged), these tiny vessels are extremely short ranged, but also amazingly hard to detect. Aside from size and associated weapons load and endurance, they're not much different from larger patrol submarines.

-Special Operations Submarine: These are small vessels, many of which are variations on coastal submarine designs, and are intended primarily for the task of carrying special forces teams to a hostile shore, and recovering them. They're popular for nations that are right next to their primary opponents as they're nearly impossible to detect, but the short range makes them inappropriate for just about anyone else.

-Special Operations Submersible: These are extremely tiny underwater cargo craft that are carried by larger submarines, and their sole purpose is deploying and retrieving special forces. By having a carrier vessel, they get around the lack of range, but size restrictions dictate that they have virtually nothing in the way of sensors or defenses.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

HELICOPTER LANDING SHIPS

Role: These vessels combine the roles of helicopter carriers and dock landing ships, and are distinguishable by their carrier-like general appearance and the presence of provisions to carry and launch landing craft. Able to deploy troops by air and sea, and provide significant air cover, these are the most powerful of all amphibious vessels.

Advantages: These are extremely versatile craft. They can deploy troops to a beach via landing craft, or use assault helicopters when a suitable beach is lacking. And, with little modification, they can also function as light aircraft carriers due to their storage facilities and flight deck.

Disadvantages: These generally cost more than comparable light carriers or dock landing ships, and are second only to fleet carriers and larger nuclear submarines in cost. As with carriers they are also both vulnerable on their own and high profile targets. And as with helicopter carriers, they're usually limited to just helicopters and maybe VTOL or STOVL aircraft.



Types

-Large LHD/LHA: Displacing over 35,000 tons, these are only seen in the US Navy, and are large enough that they can actually operate STOVL aircraft without the aid of a ski jump. These are among the most powerful naval vessels outside of fleet carriers.

-Medium LHD: Displacing 25,000-35,000 tons, these differ from smaller vessels mainly in having additional cargo space for vehicle storage and supplies. They also all include ski jumps for operating STOVL aircraft. None are currenty in service, but two nations (Spain and Australia) will have them within the next few years.

-Light LHD: Displacing 15,000-25,000 tons, these are the most common helicopter landing ships, serving in three nations (France, South Korea, UK), with at least nine more considering them. They're usually equipped to deploy a full battalion, including maybe 1 armored company. Also, most importantly, all current vessels of this type are incapable of operating STOVL aircraft, and are limited to helicopters only.

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DOCK LANDING SHIPS

Role: The primary means of amphibious force projeciton, these are large (usually 10,000-20,000 tons) vessels that have a rear well deck allowing them to carry and launch landing craft internally.

Advantages: These vessels, as they do not land troops directly, are able to have much better seakeeping than tank landing ships, as well as far greater displacement, since they don't need to keep a shallow draft. When embarking LCAC landing craft, they can deploy to 70% of the world's coastline, and most carry a small number of helicopters to provide a secondary air assault capability.

Disadvantages: These vessels are limited by the number, speed, range, and payload of their assault craft. For those with LCACs, they take longer to deploy heavy forces, while those with conventional craft are limited in where they can land, and have a great deal of trouble following up the initial landing with a steady stream of supplies. These are also almost completely defenseless, and extremely high value targets for obvious reasons.



Types

-Large LPD (Landing Platform Dock): Ranging from 18,000-25,000 tons, these are extremely large landing ships with excessive payload capacity, and may be capable of landing two battalions or a reinforced battalion task force. Only the largest navies operate ones of this size.

-Medium LPD: Workhorse units for most projection navies, these run about 12,000-18,000 tons, and are optimized to deploy a battalion or so of troops.

-Light LPD: Several navies can't quite afford huge ships, and run ones in the 8000-12,000 range. Many of these can only deploy a full battalion if it's limited to light infantry forces. Most do not deploy tanks.

-LSD (Landing Ship Dock): A variation on the LPD, these have less payload capacity, and minimal provision for helicopters, but generally maintain a much larger well deck to carry additional landing craft.

[Venezuela [CSJ]]

TANK LANDING SHIP

Role: These ships are usually relatively small (3500-5000 tons), and designed to deliver large vehicle contingents directly to a beach, and are the largest vessels capable of doing so directly. Some have the capability to embark a helicopter or two as well, and a handful are even optimized to operate landing craft. These are also the largest amphibious vessels in most lesser navies that still maintain some amphibious capability.

Advantages: This is the only way a full unit of heavy armor can be deployed to a beach in short order. Landing craft are limited to one or two tanks at a time, while these can load 20 or more. They can also deploy large support or logistics units such as artillery.

Disadvantages: The biggest problem is that only about 15% of the world's coastlines are actually suitable for breaching operations, greatly limiting where these ships can land troops. LSTs also generally don't have good speed, due to the necessities of their design, and many are comparitively short-ranged. Most of these are also very old - the last US designs were built over 30 years ago, and many in service are actually WWII-surplus.



Types

LST/LPD Hybrid: Produced only by the former Soviet Union, there are a handful of designs that had both a bow ramp for breaching and a well deck for small landing craft. The largest of these displaces over 15,000 tons - nearly twice that of even the largest pure LSTs, and can serve as a full LPD. Most, however, are not much larger than other LSTs, being in the 4000-5000 ton range.

Ramp-Type LST: The United States Newport class introduced a novel design that had a pair of ramps that let vehicles drive over the bow, allowing the ship to be designed for higher-speed operations. At 8000+ tons, these are also among the largest of all LSTs. Only the Soviet Ivan Rogov class is larger.

Door-Type LST: The standard design seen in most navies, including most recent ships, these have a pair of giant doors at the bow that open when the ship breaches, and let out a small ramp for vehicles to drive ashore on. They typically displace 3500-6000 tons.

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AIR CUSHION LANDING VESSELS

Role: These are hovercraft that provide short range transportation for assault forces. Most are landing craft carried by larger amphibious vessels, but some are designed to operate on their own.

Advantages: While an LST or conventional landing craft can only unload on about 15% of the world's coastline. An LCAC can do so on over 70%. Additionally, these vessels are 3-4 times as fast as conventional landing craft, allowing much more rapid turnover in sustained amphibious operations.

Disadvantages: These are very short ranged, only a few hundred miles for even the best, and typically around 300 miles (~500 km). Also, while they have better turnover than conventional landing craft, they're far larger than boats of similar capacity, and thus cannot deploy as much in the first wave.



Types

-Heavy LCAC: Built only by Russia, these 500+ ton vessels don't have much better range than their smaller counterparts, but do have much higher lifting capacity and endurance, enough to operate for several days, and to deliver multiple tanks to a beach.

-Medium LCAC: Displacing 70-200 tons full load, these are the most common major vessels, and are usually deployed from dock landing ships, and are able to offload significant forces onto a beach. Many also find secondary use as fast, short-range patrol vessels.

-Light LCAC: Smaller vessels (usually under 20 tons) that can only transport troops, these are the most widely proliferated type, and are mostly used for patrol operations and special forces. They're too small to contribute to major operations.