US and NATO Military Hardware

These aging warriors in the Navy's fleet each carry a price tag of $38 million. F-14 Tomcats take a crew of two. Each can carry up to 13,000 lbs. of ordnance, including Phoenix, Sparrow, Sidewinder and other missiles, along with a 20mm cannon.	The F-15 is an all-weather tactical fighter. Called the "Starship" by pilots, the F-15 costs $15 million per plane and is the world's leading air superiority fighter. It carries a M-61 A1 20mm cannon, four Sidewinder missiles and four Sparrow missiles.	The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a small multi-role fighter aircraft known for its exceptional maneuverability and range. Each F-16 costs $20 million or more. It carries one M-61 A1 20mm multibarrel cannon, and up to 6 air-to-air missiles.
F/A-18 and F/A-18C Hornets, are dual-role attack aircraft and fighters. These twin-engined multipurpose aircraft can cost from $24 million to $35 million, depending on the type. Some versions carry crews of one, others two. Maximum speed is Mach 1.7.	The F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter is the world's first operational radar-avoiding aircraft. This twin-engine aircraft costs about $45 million and can fly at high subsonic speeds and carries weapons in an internal bay.	The A-10 is designed for close air support of ground targets. It costs $8.8 million and takes a crew of one. The A-10 can carries a 30mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel gatling gun, and up to 16,000 lbs of mixed ordnance.
The versatile Harrier attack jet is designed to destroys surface targets. It's distinguished by its ability to take off and land vertically, much like a helicopter. The $24 million aircraft can fly faster than Mach 1 and carries both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, including the AGM-65 Maverick missile.	Germany and Italy teamed up to build this multi-role, twin-engine aircraft that can be configured for strike attack air defense and electronic warfare. A two-man crew flies this plane, and it has a 1,500-mile range.	This Delta-wing, supersonic aircraft first flew after the Suez crisis of 1956, and has since been modified for bombing, intercept, and reconnaissance missions. Its low-set wing gives it exceptional ability for dog fighting. It can carry 30 mm cannons, anti-runway bombs, cluster bombs, laser-guided bombs, and a host of missiles.
This four-man aircraft jams and disrupts enemy radar and communications so U.S. aircraft can hit their targets without being detected and escape unpursued. The Prowler carries the AGM-88A HARM missile.	Mainly used to find and kill submarines, the useful Viking can also carry fuel for other planes, drop mines, and carry out reconnaissance missions. This $27 million aircraft can carry deadly Harpoon and Maverick missiles.	Produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, San Diego, the Predator UAV drones are 27 feet long with a wingspan of approximately 49 feet. With a loiter time of up to 40 hours and a maximum ceiling of 25,000 feet, these aerial "eyes in the sky" can observe enemies in high-risk areas without endangering an aircrew.
The AWACS provides all-weather surveillance, command control and communications. For a price tag of $270 million, it has a radar dome that can detect small, low flying targets for 200 miles, and larger, higher-flying targets even farther away.	If the U.S. Navy can see its enemies, it can kill them. The Hawkeye helps carriers do just that. It's an airborne surveillance craft with a powerful radar that detects ships and aircraft hundreds of miles away. The $51 million plane flies at 345 mph.	Its design inspired by gliders, the U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude spy plane, designed to provide all-weather, day or night surveillance. It flies above 70,000 feet and can reach speeds over 475 mph. Its cost is classified.
The P-3C Orion is an anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft, with a maximum speed of 473 mph, a range of 2,383 miles and can stay aloft for 14 hours. It carries a crew of 10 and 19,250 pounds of armaments.	The KC-10s can carry more than 356,000 pounds of jet fuel, which it delivers through a boom to aircraft in flight at a rate of 470 gallons per minute. It costs $86.3 million per plane, carries a crew of four, and can fly at 619 mph.	This workhorse provides vital logistical support. It costs $22.9 million, and can take off and fly at 33,000 feet with a 100,000-lb. payload of supplies or 92 troops, 64 paratroops, or 74 patients on stretchers. It has a top speed of 374 mph.
The B-1 is a long range strategic bomber with a distinctive streamlined shape. It was originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons to targets in defended Soviet airspace, but can carry a variety of conventional arms as well from bombs to cruise missles.	The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions anywhere on the globe. Its "stealth" characteristics blend low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency and large payload, providing greater freedom of action at high altitudes. This increases its unrefueled range to approximately 6,000 nautical miles.	This is the primary U.S. manned strategic bomber. The B-52 carries a crew of five, costs $30 million, and can fly as high as 50,000 feet, with a range of 8,800 miles. The B-52 can carry 70,000 lbs. of nuclear or conventional bombs, mines, and missiles.
The Pave Low is a powerful special operations chopper operated by the U.S. Air Force. It has a top speed of 193 mph and a range of more than 1,000 miles. It can carry two 7.62mm miniguns along with a .50-caliber machine gun.	The Apache is the U.S. Army's main gunship/anti-tank helicopter. It is a tough, versatile craft that can operate at night and in bad weather. It has a top speed of about 190 mph, a range of about 300 miles, and carries a powerful arsenal.	The ATACMS is a surface-to-surface missile launcher unaffacted by bad weather that is used to attack other ground-based units. The warhead carries hundreds of small bomblets that send lethal splinters out over a 600-square-foot area at a 180-mile range.
The Tomahawk is an all-weather submarine or ship-launched land-attack cruise missile. Using its internal guidance system, it finds the way to its target. The Tomahawk flies at around 550 miles per hour and can deliver a 1,000-pound warhead.	These air-launched cruise missiles were developed to increase the effectiveness of B-52 bombers. In combination, the AGM86B and 86C dilute an enemy's forces and complicate defense of its territory. The AGM 86C uses an onboard Global Positioning System coupled with its inertial navigation system, allowing the missile to guide itself at sustained subsonic speeds to the target with pinpoint accuracy.	The Standoff Land Attack Missile is used by the Navy for long-range precision strikes. The missile, which costs $720,000 each, can hit its targets over 60 miles away, and uses an internal Global Positioning System unit to find the way to the target.
This powerful and versatile laser-guided missile can destroy tanks, missile installations, ships, and fuel dumps with its 300-pound warhead. Each one costs $180,000, and has a range of over 17 miles. Speed is classified.	The High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile is used to blind the enemy, destroying radar installations. It has a range of over 80 miles, and carries its 150-pound warhead at over 760 mph, following radar emissions back to their source.	These ships are designed as mine hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. They use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control.
Aircraft carriers like the USS George Washington, USS Independence and the USS Nimitz are some of most powerful ships in the gulf. These carriers are each home to about 77 aircraft, including F-14 fighters and F/A-18 attack planes.	Aircraft carrier groups generally include one or more guided missile cruisers that can fire long-range Tomahawk missiles.Their crew size can vary.	Destroyers, such as the USS Ingersoll, the USS Barry, and the USS John Young are in the region. Each destroyer carries a crew of 339, and most are capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles. These fast warships help safeguard larger ships in a fleet.
U.S. attack subs are ready to counter this threats from Third World countries as well as other missions ranging from intelligence collection and special forces delivery to anti-ship and missile attacks on land targets.	Guided Missile Frigates like the USS Reuben James and the USS Samuel B. Roberts each have a crew of 200. They are intended to defend other ships in the fleet from air attack, with a variety of surface-to-air guns and 36 surface-to-air missiles.	The fast combat support ship is the Navy's largest combat logistics ship. It has the speed and armament to keep up with carrier groups. Its job is to replenish Navy task forces and it carries more than 177,000 barrels of oil and 2,150 tons of ammunition.
Amphibious transports are used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies. Operations are carried out by landing craft or amphibious vehicles augmented by helicopters.The ship can carry 396 enlisted men and 900 Marines.	These ships, such as the USS Ashland and USS Oak Hill, transport and launch craft with their crews and other personnel in amphibious assault operations. Each ship carries 22 officers, 391 enlisted personnel and between 400 and 500 Marines.	Amphibious assault ships like the USS Guam carry a crew of about 900. They also carry about 2,000 combat-ready Marines and about 30 transport and attack helicopters.