Equipment of the United States Army

The Equipment of the United States Army can be subdivided into: ammunition, weapons, vehicles and clothing.

Ammunition
9x19mm NATO:
 * M9 pistol
 * M11
 * Heckler & Koch MP5 - used in night operations, close quarters battle, hostage rescue, and escort

.45 ACP:
 * M1911 pistol – In limited service

5.56x45mm NATO:
 * M249 Light Machine Gun
 * M16 rifle - Virtually universally phased out in favor of the M4.
 * M4 carbine
 * M231 FPW

7.62x51mm NATO:
 * M14 Rifle
 * M240 Medium Machine Gun
 * M110 Sniper Rifle
 * M24 Sniper Weapon System

.300 Winchester Magnum
 * XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle

.50-cal BMG:
 * M2 Heavy Machine Gun
 * Barrett M82

12 gauge:
 * Mossberg 500
 * Benelli M4 Super 90

25x137mm NATO:
 * M242 Chain Gun

30x113mm NATO:
 * M230 Chain Gun

Hand grenades:
 * M67 fragmentation grenade
 * M18 smoke grenade
 * M84 stun grenade

Grenade launchers
 * Mk 19 grenade launcher

Weapons


The Weapons of the United States Army can be sorted into three categories: Personal weapons carried and used by one soldier, Support weapons used by teams of soldiers in support roles, and Vehicle-Mounted weapons mounted on Army vehicles. Some support weapons can be mounted on vehicles in addition to their primary ground roles.

Personal Weapons:
 * Pistols:
 * The M9 pistol, a semi-automatic handgun with a 15-round detachable magazine
 * Rifles/Carbines
 * The M16A4, an assault rifle using STANAG magazines from 20 to 100 round capacities and firing at a maximum rate of 825 rounds per minute. All are to be replaced by M4A1s.
 * The M4/M4A1, a carbine in the same family as the M16 and using identical magazines and with an identical rate of fire. All M4s are to be upgraded to M4A1s.
 * The FN SCAR, an assault rifle being issued to elite units like the 75th Ranger Regiment that is scheduled to replace the M4 and M16 in special operations.
 * The M231 FPW, a modified M16 for use in the firing ports of the M2 Bradley. It uses STANAG magazines and can fire at a rates over 1,000 rounds per minute.
 * Designated Marksman Rifles
 * The Mk 14 EBR, a battle rifle used as Designated marksman rifle.
 * The Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R), used as Designated marksman rifle.
 * Light Machine Guns
 * The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a belt-fed light machine gun which can also be used with STANAG magazines, though with a significant rate of malfunction. Rate of fire ranges from 500 to 1,000 rounds per minute.
 * Sniper Rifles
 * The M24 Sniper Weapon System, a bolt-action sniper rifle
 * The XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, .300 Winchester Magnum successor to M24.
 * The M110 Semi-automatic sniper system, a semi-automatic sniper rifle.
 * The M82/M107, a .50BMG Anti-materiel rifle.
 * Bayonets
 * The M9 bayonet, which can be attached to the M16 assault rifle or M4 carbine and also be used as a knife. Bayonet tactics have been phased out.
 * Portable Grenade Launchers
 * The M203 grenade launcher, a 40mm grenade launcher that can be attached under the barrel of a variety of rifles, including the M16 and M4. It cannot be used as a stand-alone weapon. Being replaced by M320.
 * The M320 grenade launcher, a 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher replacing the M203. Can be a stand-alone weapon.

Support Weapons:
 * Machine guns:
 * The M60 machine gun, a belt-fed general purpose machine gun.
 * The M240B/L Medium Machine Gun, a belt-fed machine gun that fires 7.62x51mm ammunition. It has three rate-of-fire settings: 750, 850, and 950 rounds per minute.
 * The M2HB/M2A1 Heavy Machine Gun, a belt-fed machine gun that fires .50-caliber BMG ammunition. Its rate of fire maximizes at 575 rounds per minute, though aircraft-mounted versions can achieve over 1,200 rounds per minute.
 * The MK 19 grenade machine gun, a belt-fed grenade-launching machine gun that fires 40mm grenades. Its cyclic rate of fire averages 400 rounds per minute, though its effective rate of fire is between 40 and 60 rounds per minute.
 * Rockets:
 * AT4 light anti-tank weapon.
 * M141 Bunker Defeat Munition bunker busting weapon
 * Missiles:
 * FGM-148 Javelin 3rd generation fire & forget top-attack anti-tank missile.
 * BGM-71 TOW 2nd generation wire guided anti-tank missile.
 * FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile.
 * Mortars:
 * The M224 mortar fires 60mm shells up to 3,780 yards (3,460 meters). It is typically distributed at the company level.
 * The M252 mortar fires 81mm shells up to 6,490 yards (5,935 meters). It is typically distributed at the battalion level.
 * The M120 mortar fires 120mm shells up to 7,920 yards (7,240 meters). It is primarily used by mechanized battalions, though it can be used to support light infantry operations.

Vehicle-Mounted Weapons:
 * The M240, MK 19, and M2 machine guns can be mounted on vehicles, though not as a primary armament.
 * The M134 Minigun, fires 7.62mm ammunition at 3,000 to 4,000 rpm.
 * The M3P Machine Gun, an M2 variant with a higher rate of fire mounted on the Avenger Humvee and OH-58D Kiowa helicopter.
 * The GAU-19, a rotary gun that fires .50 caliber ammunition. Mounted on Humvees and helicopters.
 * The M230 Autocannon fires 30x113mm ammunition at a rate of 625 rounds per minute. It is mounted on the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk Direct Action Penetrator helicopters.
 * The M242 Autocannon fires 25x137mm ammunition at a rate of 200 rounds per minute. It is one of the primary armaments of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and is one of a variety of anti-air and anti-surface naval armaments.

Aircraft


The U.S. Army operates some fixed-wing aircraft and many helicopters.

Vessels
The Army still operates vessels of many types.

Attire
The standard garrison service uniform is known as "Army Greens" or "Class-As".The "Army Blue" uniform, is currently the Army's formal dress uniform, but in 2009, it will replace the Army Green and the Army White uniforms (a uniform similar to the Army Green uniform, but worn in tropical postings) and will become the new Army Service Uniform, which will function as both a garrison uniform (when worn with a white shirt and necktie) and a dress uniform (when worn with a white shirt and either a necktie for parades or a bow tie for "after six" or "black tie" events). The Patrol Cap is worn with the ACU for garrison duty; and the beret with the Army Service Uniform for non-ceremonial functions. The Army Blue Service Cap, is allowed for wear by any soldier ranked CPL or above at the discretion of the commander.

Body armor in all units is the Improved Outer Tactical Vest and the Interceptor Body Armor, which is now being supplemented with the lightweight Modular Body Armor Vest and Soldier Plate Carrier System. Head protection is provided by the Advanced Combat Helmet and the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet.