Weapon

::The following article refers to the instrument of fighting or hunting. For other uses, see Weapon (disambiguation). See military technology and equipment for a comprehensive list of weapons and doctrines.

Types of weapons

There are essentially three facets to classifying weapon types: who uses it, how it works, and what it targets.

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Who uses it essentially determines how it can be employed:

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• Personal weapons are designed to be used by an individual person.
• Crew served weapons are larger than personal weapons, requiring more than one crew member to operate correctly.
• Fortification weapons are designed to be mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within a fortification.
• Mountain weapons are designed for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain and harsh climates.
• Vehicle weapons are designed to be mounted on any type of military vehicle.
• Railway weapons are designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.
• Aircraft weapons are designed to be carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other aerial vehicle.
• Naval weapons are designed to be mounted on ships and submarines.
• Space weapons are designed to be used in or launched from space.

How it works refers to the construction of the weapon and how it operates:

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• Archery related weapons operate by using a tensioned string to launch a projectile at some target.
• Artillery are large firearms capable of launching heavy projectiles (normally explosive) over long distances.
• Biological weapons spread biological agents, attacking humans (or livestock) by causing disease and infection.
• Chemical weapons spread chemical agents, attacking humans by poisoning and causing reactions.
• Energy weapons rely on concentrating forms of energy to attack, such as lasers, electrical shocks, and thermal or sonic attack.
• Explosive weapons use a physical explosion to create blast concussion or spread shrapnel.
• Firearms use a chemical charge to launch one or more projectiles down a rifled or smoothbore barrel.
• Incendiary weapons rely on combustible materials and an ignition mechanism to cause damage by fire.
• Non-lethal weapons are used to attack and subdue humans, but are designed to minimize the risk of killing the target.
• Magnetic weapon is one that uses magnetic fields to accelerate and propel projectiles, or to focus charged particle beams.
• Mêlée weapons operate as physical extensions of the user's body and directly impact their target.
• Missiles are rockets which are guided to their target after launch. This is also a general term for projectile weapons.
• Nuclear weapons use fissile materials to create nuclear explosions above a target ("air-burst") or at ground-level.
• Primitive weapons make no use of technological or industrial elements, instead being purely constructed of easily obtainable natural materials.
• Ranged weapons cause a projectile to leave the user and (ideally) strike a target afterwards.
• Rockets use chemical propellent to accelerate a projectile (usually with an explosive warhead) towards a target and are typically unguided once fired.
• Suicide weapons are typically explosive in nature and exploit the willingness of their operator to not survive the attack to reach their target.

What it targets refers to what type of target the weapon is designed to attack:

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• Anti-aircraft weapons target enemy aircraft, helicopters, missiles and any other aerial vehicles in flight.
• Anti-fortification weapons are designed to target enemy installations, including bunkers and fortifications.
• Anti-personnel weapons are designed to attack people, either individually or in numbers.
• Anti-radiation weapons target enemy sources of electronic radiation, particularly radar emitters.
• Anti-ship weapons target enemy ships and vessels on water.
• Anti-submarine weapons target enemy submarines and other underwater targets.
• Anti-tank weapons are primarily used to defeat tanks, but may be targeted against other less well armored targets.
• Area denial weapons are designed to target territory, making it unsafe or unsuitable for enemy use.
• Hunting weapons are designed particularly for use against animals for hunting purposes.
• Infantry support weapons are designed to attack various threats to infantry units, supporting the infantry's operations.