Resources
Key details and explainer videos of the main categories of munitions, as well as a detailed glossary of other terms.
Air-delivered Bombs
Air-delivered bombs are bombs that are dropped from an aerial vehicle. Compared to other munition categories, they are typically large and can weigh up to 2,000 kilograms – roughly the weight of a car.
Artillery Gun Projectiles
Artillery gun projectiles are gun-launched indirect-fire projectiles that are typically unguided. They can be generally described as a steel cylinder with a tapered pointed nose, where the fuze of the munition is often fitted.
Mortar projectiles
Mortar projectiles are gun-launched indirect-fire that are typically unguided. Compared with artillery projectiles, mortar projectiles are generally shorter and lighter.
Rockets and Missiles
Rockets and missiles are two closely related types of powered munitions which utilise an internal propulsion method. A rocket fitted with a guidance system is referred to as a missile.
Tank Gun Projectiles
Tank gun projectiles are projectiles fired from tank guns, which may vary from simple high explosive munitions to visually distinctive kinetic energy penetrators or complex ‘multi-purpose’ types which combine blast, fragmentation, shaped charge, and/or incendiary damage mechanisms.
Glossary
A glossary of explosive munitions from the Open Source Munitions Portal