Weapon and Military Equipment Abbreviations
77 abbreviations · part of Military Abbreviations
Abbreviations for missiles, bombs and munitions, artillery and rocket systems, small arms, body armor, armored vehicles, military aircraft designations and drones. Many come from official US designation systems, such as the mission prefixes in AH-64 or MQ-9, while others, like RPG and AK-47, are foreign-origin names that entered English through news coverage. Entries explain what each system does, who uses it and how it differs from similar-sounding terms.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AAM | Air-to-air missile | Missile fired from an aircraft to destroy other aircraft or drones, guided by infrared heat seeking or radar. |
| AAV | Assault Amphibious Vehicle | Tracked amphibious armored vehicle, the AAV7, that carried Marines from ships to shore for decades. |
| ACOG | Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight | Fixed-magnification rifle scope made by Trijicon, widely issued to US Marines and soldiers, using tritium and fiber optics so its reticle glows without batteries. |
| ACV | Amphibious Combat Vehicle | Eight-wheeled armored amphibious vehicle built by BAE Systems for the Marine Corps to replace the AAV, carrying Marines from ship to shore and across land. |
| AH | Attack helicopter | US mission designation for helicopters armed to attack ground targets, as in the AH-64 Apache used by the Army and the AH-1Z Viper used by the Marine Corps. |
| AK-47 | Avtomat Kalashnikova (Kalashnikov automatic rifle), model 1947 | Soviet assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, adopted in 1949 and firing the 7.62x39mm cartridge. |
| ALCM | Air-launched cruise missile | Cruise missile launched from an aircraft, flying low to evade defenses. |
| AMRAAM | Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile | AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missile, the primary beyond-visual-range weapon of US and allied fighters, which guides itself with its own radar in the final phase of… |
| APC | Armored personnel carrier | Armored vehicle designed to carry infantry to the battlefield protected from small arms fire and shell fragments, usually lightly armed with a machine gun. |
| APFSDS | Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot | Tank ammunition firing a long, dense dart, usually tungsten or depleted uranium, at very high velocity to punch through armor by kinetic energy. |
| AR-15 | ArmaLite Rifle, model 15 | Lightweight rifle design created in the late 1950s by Eugene Stoner at ArmaLite, which became the basis of the military M16 and M4. |
| ATACMS | Army Tactical Missile System | MGM-140 ballistic missile fired from HIMARS and MLRS launchers, with a range of up to about 300 kilometers, used against high-value targets such as air bases, air… |
| ATGM | Anti-tank guided missile | Guided missile designed to destroy tanks and armored vehicles, fired by infantry, vehicles or helicopters. |
| AWACS | Airborne Warning and Control System | Airborne radar aircraft, the E-3 Sentry, that detects and tracks aircraft over long distances and directs friendly fighters, recognizable by the large rotating radar… |
| BFV | Bradley Fighting Vehicle | US Army tracked infantry fighting vehicle, armed with a 25mm Bushmaster chain gun and TOW missiles. |
| BMD | Ballistic missile defense | Systems that detect, track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles, including the US Ground-based Midcourse Defense, the Navy's Aegis BMD, THAAD and Patriot. |
| BZO | Battle sight zero | Rifle sight setting adjusted so that bullets hit the point of aim at a standard distance, letting a soldier engage targets at typical combat ranges without adjusting… |
| CBU | Cluster bomb unit | US designation for air-dropped cluster bombs that release dozens or hundreds of submunitions over a wide area, used against vehicles, troops and airfields. |
| CH | Cargo helicopter | US mission designation for heavy-lift helicopters, such as the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook used by the Army and the CH-53K King Stallion used by the Marine Corps. |
| CIWS | Close-in weapon system | Ship-mounted automatic weapon that defends against missiles, aircraft, drones and small boats at short range. |
| DMR | Designated marksman rifle | Accurate semi-automatic rifle, often with a magnified optic, issued to a designated marksman who engages targets at longer ranges than other squad members can reach… |
| DPICM | Dual-purpose improved conventional munition | Artillery shell or rocket that releases dozens of small grenades effective against both personnel and lightly armored vehicles. |
| EFP | Explosively formed penetrator | Type of shaped-charge bomb in which the blast forms a concave metal plate, usually copper, into a high-speed slug that can pierce armored vehicles. |
| FMJ | Full metal jacket | Bullet with a soft lead core fully enclosed in a harder metal jacket, usually copper alloy, which feeds reliably and penetrates without expanding. |
| FPV | First-person view drone | Small, fast drone flown through a live camera feed displayed in goggles, adapted from racing drones and used in large numbers as cheap guided munitions in the… |
| GBU | Guided bomb unit | US designation prefix for guided bombs, applied to laser-guided Paveways, GPS-guided JDAMs and large penetrators. |
| GMLRS | Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System | GPS-guided rocket fired by HIMARS and MLRS launchers, with a range of about 70 kilometers and accuracy of a few meters, used against command posts, depots and air… |
| HARM | High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile | AGM-88 air-to-surface missile that homes in on radar emissions to destroy enemy air defense radars, a key weapon for suppression of enemy air defenses. |
| HE | High explosive | Explosive that detonates rather than burns, such as TNT or RDX, and the type of shell or warhead filled with it, used for blast and fragmentation against troops and… |
| HEAT | High-explosive anti-tank | Warhead using a shaped charge that focuses a jet of metal through armor, effective regardless of the projectile's speed. |
| HGV | Hypersonic glide vehicle | Maneuvering warhead launched by a rocket that then glides through the upper atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound, making its path harder to predict and… |
| HIMARS | High Mobility Artillery Rocket System | M142 truck-mounted rocket launcher that fires six guided GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS missile from a single pod, then quickly drives away to avoid counterfire. |
| HMMWV | High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle | Four-wheel-drive military light vehicle made by AM General, known as the Humvee, which entered service in the 1980s for transport, weapons carriage and ambulance roles. |
| ICBM | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Long-range ballistic missile with a range greater than 5,500 kilometers, able to deliver nuclear warheads between continents in about 30 minutes. |
| IFV | Infantry fighting vehicle | Armored vehicle that carries infantry and also fights with a cannon and often anti-tank missiles, operating alongside tanks. |
| IOTV | Improved Outer Tactical Vest | US Army body armor vest introduced in the late 2000s, holding ceramic plates and soft armor, with a quick-release feature so a soldier can shed it rapidly in an… |
| IRBM | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | Ballistic missile with a range of roughly 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers, able to strike targets across a region rather than between continents. |
| JDAM | Joint Direct Attack Munition | Tail kit that turns an unguided bomb into an all-weather precision-guided weapon using GPS and inertial navigation. |
| JLTV | Joint Light Tactical Vehicle | Armored light vehicle built by Oshkosh Defense for the Army and Marine Corps to replace many Humvees, offering MRAP-like blast protection in a lighter, more mobile… |
| JSTARS | Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System | E-8C aircraft that used a long side-looking radar to track moving ground vehicles over large areas, directing attacks by aircraft and artillery from the 1991 Gulf War… |
| KC | Tanker-cargo aircraft | US designation prefix for aerial refueling tankers that can also carry cargo, including the KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-46 Pegasus and Marine Corps KC-130J. |
| LAV | Light Armored Vehicle | Eight-wheeled armored vehicle used by the Marine Corps for reconnaissance, especially the LAV-25 with a 25mm cannon, and by Canada and other countries in many versions. |
| LAW | Light Anti-Tank Weapon | M72 lightweight, single-shot, disposable rocket launcher carried by infantry to engage light vehicles, bunkers and buildings. |
| LGB | Laser-guided bomb | Bomb fitted with a seeker and control fins that guide it to a target illuminated by a laser designator on an aircraft or held by troops on the ground. |
| LMG | Light machine gun | Machine gun light enough to be carried and fired by one soldier, usually with a bipod, providing automatic fire at the squad level. |
| MANPADS | Man-portable air-defense system | Shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile carried and launched by one person or a small team against low-flying aircraft and helicopters, such as the US Stinger and… |
| MBT | Main battle tank | Heavily armored tracked vehicle with a large-caliber main gun that combines firepower, protection and mobility for front-line combat. |
| MG | Machine gun | Fully automatic weapon that fires rifle-caliber or larger ammunition continuously while the trigger is held, usually belt-fed and used for sustained fire from bipods… |
| MIRV | Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle | Missile payload carrying several nuclear warheads that can each strike a different target, greatly increasing the destructive capacity of a single missile and… |
| MLRS | Multiple Launch Rocket System | M270 tracked rocket launcher that fires two pods of guided or unguided rockets or missiles, entering US service in the early 1980s and used by many NATO armies. |
| MOAB | Massive Ordnance Air Blast | GBU-43/B, a GPS-guided bomb weighing about 21,600 pounds, one of the largest non-nuclear bombs in the US arsenal, dropped from a cargo plane by parachute extraction. |
| MOP | Massive Ordnance Penetrator | GBU-57A/B, a precision-guided bomb of about 30,000 pounds designed to penetrate deep underground before exploding, built to destroy hardened bunkers and buried… |
| MQ | Multi-mission unmanned aircraft | US designation prefix for drones that perform more than one mission, typically surveillance and strike, as in the MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle and MQ-25 Stingray. |
| MRAP | Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle | Family of armored vehicles with V-shaped hulls that deflect blasts from mines and IEDs, rushed into service from 2007 to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| NASAMS | National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System | Medium-range air defense system developed by Norway's Kongsberg and the US company Raytheon that fires AMRAAM missiles from ground launchers, defending against… |
| NLAW | Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon | Shoulder-fired, disposable anti-tank missile developed by Saab with Thales for the British Army, designed to destroy tanks at short range with a top-attack mode. |
| NVG | Night vision goggles | Devices that amplify faint light or detect heat to let troops see in darkness, worn on helmets or held in front of the eyes. |
| PAC-3 | Patriot Advanced Capability-3 | Hit-to-kill interceptor missile and system upgrade of the US Army's Patriot air and missile defense system, designed to destroy tactical ballistic missiles, cruise… |
| PGM | Precision-guided munition | Any bomb, missile, shell or rocket that uses guidance, such as GPS, laser or imaging seekers, to strike a specific target with high accuracy, reducing the number of… |
| PrSM | Precision Strike Missile | US Army surface-to-surface missile fired from HIMARS and MLRS launchers, replacing ATACMS with longer range, two missiles per launch pod and future capability against… |
| RPG | Ruchnoy protivotankovy granatomyot (hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher) | Shoulder-fired weapon that launches a rocket-assisted grenade against vehicles, bunkers and troops. |
| SA | Small arms | Military category for weapons carried and fired by individuals, such as pistols, rifles, carbines, shotguns and light machine guns, as distinct from crew-served weapons… |
| SAM | Surface-to-air missile | Missile launched from the ground or a ship to destroy aircraft, drones or missiles. |
| SAPI | Small Arms Protective Insert | Ceramic armor plate inserted into the front and back of US body armor vests to stop rifle bullets. |
| SAW | Squad automatic weapon | Light machine gun carried by an infantry fire team to provide sustained automatic fire, in US service mainly the M249, which fires 5.56mm ammunition from belts or… |
| SDB | Small Diameter Bomb | GBU-39 precision-guided glide bomb of about 250 pounds, designed so aircraft can carry more weapons and reduce collateral damage. |
| SLBM | Submarine-launched ballistic missile | Ballistic missile carried and launched by a submarine, usually while submerged, providing the most survivable leg of a nuclear triad because submarines are hard to… |
| SMG | Submachine gun | Compact automatic weapon firing pistol cartridges, used for close-range fighting by special forces, police and vehicle crews. |
| SRBM | Short-range ballistic missile | Ballistic missile with a range of up to about 1,000 kilometers, typically launched from mobile vehicles and used against bases, cities and troop concentrations within a… |
| TEL | Transporter erector launcher | Vehicle that carries a missile, raises it to a vertical firing position and launches it, giving ballistic missile forces mobility and making them hard to find and… |
| THAAD | Terminal High Altitude Area Defense | US Army missile defense system that intercepts short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight, inside or just outside the… |
| TOW | Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile | BGM-71 anti-tank guided missile, fired from tripods, vehicles and helicopters, which receives steering commands through thin wires unspooling behind it. |
| UAS | Unmanned aircraft system | Drone together with its ground control station, data links and support equipment. |
| UAV | Unmanned aerial vehicle | Aircraft without a pilot on board, flown remotely or autonomously, ranging from hand-launched quadcopters to large armed drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper. |
| UH | Utility helicopter | US mission designation for helicopters that carry troops, cargo and casualties, used in names such as UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-1 Iroquois, nicknamed "Huey." Utility… |
| VTOL | Vertical takeoff and landing | Ability of an aircraft to take off and land vertically, as helicopters, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor and the Harrier jump jet can, without a runway. |
| WP | White phosphorus | Chemical that ignites on contact with air, used in munitions to create smoke screens, mark targets and set fires. |
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