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A M4 Carbine is in the forground and the M16A2 in the background in the hands of these two Marines during a live fire exercise in 2003

A live fire exercise is any exercise in which a realistic scenario for the use of specific equipment is simulated. In the popular lexicon this is applied primarily to tests of weapons or weapon systems that are associated with the various branches of a nation's armed forces, although the term can be applied to the civilian arena as well. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2061x1313, 277 KB) Summary from: http://www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2061x1313, 277 KB) Summary from: http://www. ... The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. ... M16 (more formally United States Rifle, Caliber 5. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The term Exercise can refer to: Physical exercise such as running or strength training Exercise (options), the financial term for enacting and terminating a contract Category: ... The armed forces of a state are its government sponsored defense and fighting forces and organizations. ...

Armed services

Armed services usually use live fire exercises as an opportunity to use real ammunition in a realistically created combat situation. The area in which these tests are conducted will be devoid of people to avoid unnecessary casualties, and will likely be owned by the government which authorized the test in the first place. Most live fire tests are conducted either against derelict equipment, such as tanks and ships, or against remotely controlled drones. Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ...

The purpose of this type of exercise is two fold: First, it offers recruits the chance to get accustomed to their weapons so that they will know how to properly operate them. Secondly, this provides soldiers with an opportunity to fire live ammunition without having to worry about an actual enemy returning fire. This allows soldiers to get reacquainted with the feel and time of actually using and expending ammunition rather than simply simulating the experience. Live fire exercises of this type can be observed either by remotely controlled cameras or by long range telescopic devices, such as binoculars. Modern soldiers. ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... Large format camera lens. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ... Porro-prism binoculars with central focusing Binocular telescopes, or binoculars, (also known as field glasses) are two identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (Binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. ...

Army

A U.S. Patriot Missile launches from a truck mounted canister

An army, being the main branch responsible for land combat, is perhaps the best known group that conducts live fire exercises. Most live fire exercises occur within forts where the units conducting the exercise are located. In some cases one fort will host units from another fort for a larger live fire exercise. Equipment tested under these circumstances range from small arms and assault rifle fire all the way up to missile systems and artillery fire. In the case of the former the tests are usually proficiency based and aimed at ensuring a soldier can fire the weapon issued to him. In the case of the latter, missile systems may be test-fired at remotely controlled drones to simulate a situation in which enemy missiles or aircraft are launched at allied or friendly forces, while artillery units can take the opportunity to test new shells or to fire under adverse weather conditions for a chance to see how the artillery pieces will perform.
MIM-104 Patriot missile launch. ... MIM-104 Patriot missile launch. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... Small arms captured in Fallujah, Iraq by the US Marine Corps in 2004 The term small arms generally describes any number of smaller infantry weapons, such as firearms that an individual soldier can carry. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... Weather is a term that encompasses phenomena in the atmosphere of a planet. ...

Marine forces

U.S. Marines conduct a live fire exercise with an M1A1 Abrams Tank in Iraq.

For the most part marine corps live fire exercises are similar to the military's live fire exercises. One notable difference stems from the amphibious nature of a marine force's duty, which can lead the force to incorporate amphibious assault ships when they conduct live fire exercises.
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3008x1960, 2893 KB)050124-M-8479B-002 Najaf Province, Iraq (Jan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3008x1960, 2893 KB)050124-M-8479B-002 Najaf Province, Iraq (Jan. ... A Marine is an elite warrior whose primary function is to serve aboard a ship and/or assault the land from the sea in amphibious warfare. ... Six of the U.S. Navys seven amphibious assault ships in formation The Italian MM San Giusto Amphibious assault ships, usually shortened to amphibs, phibs or popularly known as gator freighters, denotes a range of classes of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by...

Air forces

A B-2 Sprit dropping Mk.82 bombs in a 1994 training exercise off Pt. Mugu in the Pacific Ocean.

An Air force, due to its nature, usually limits live fire exercises to the air, although bombing exercises can be conducted as well. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... An Air force is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. ...

During live fire exercises dealing with air-to-air combat remotely controlled drones are frequently used to simulate enemy aircraft. In modern times the drones are fired on by planes loaded with some type of air-to-air missile, with the objective of the exercise being to destroy the drone. These test are usually done to ensure that guidance packages within the missiles will work, although they can be done to test other factors such as a missiles susceptibility to jamming or to see if a new type of dodging technique will work against the missiles fired. UAVs in a hangar An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a pilotless aircraft, controlled either remotely or flown autonomously, used for a number of missions, including reconnaissance and attack roles. ... Look up aircraft in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A US Navy VF-103 Jolly Rogers F-14 Tomcat fighter launches an AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile. ... The term Jamming can refer to several things: Jamming as an electronic warfare (EW) - a technique to limit the effectiveness of an opponents communications and/or detection equipment, like Radio Jamming and Radar Jamming E-Mail Jamming- used by electronic political activists or hackers to disable e-mail systems...

Live fire exercises involving air to surface work are usually centered around precision-guided munitions. In some cases tests involving bombs will make use of derelict buildings or vehicles, more frequently the latter than the former. Live fire bombing exercises are usually conducted with precision guided munitions to ensure that they work correctly, but are also used to test new and experimental weapons to ensure that they work as they were originally designed to. These test are usually monitored by chase planes and by cameras to determine if everything worked as it was originally intended to. BOLT-117 laser guided bomb Precision-guided munitions (smart munitions or smart bombs) are self-guiding weapons intended to maximize damage to the target while minimizing collateral damage. Because the damage effects of an explosive weapon scale as a power law with distance, quite modest improvements in accuracy (and hence... Derelict may refer to: Negligence (dereliction) Neglect of legal or moral duty. ... A chase plane is an aircraft that chases a test aircraft. ...

Live fire exercises may also be conducted against planes for the purpose of testing a planes susceptibility to SAM sites, or as a means to test a plane's stealth features.

Naval forces

U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers fire anti-missile missiles during a live fire exercise.

Naval live fire exercises are almost exclusively concerned with anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, although tests involving air-to-air and air-to-surface missile and bombs are not uncommon. Usually a Navy will conduct live fire exercises to test elements of an integrated defense system such as the US Aegis; namely its ability to track and destroy enemy anti-ship missiles. Tests can also include an integrated defense system’s compatibility to fire new missiles or newer versions of the same missile. Live fire tests are also conducted with a CIWS system, which is designed as the last line of defense for a ship. Surface ships also frequently testfire the various guns kept and maintained aboard the vessel, these can range from side arms and rifles up to the 16" 50-caliber artillery rifles of the mothballed US Iowa-class battleships. This is done to maintain the skill and knowledge needed to operate the weapon. In the case of aircraft carriers, the pilots assigned to the carrier may conduct air-to-air and air-to-surface missile exercises similar to those of the air force; additionally, these pilots may also conduct live fire exercises against derelict ships. Recent aircraft carriers have incorporated missile launching systems, and have taken part in live fire exercises involving missiles. Image File history File links 031200-N-0000X-001 At sea aboard USS Hue City (CG-66) Dec. ... Image File history File links 031200-N-0000X-001 At sea aboard USS Hue City (CG-66) Dec. ... The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, one of the destroyer classes of the United States Navy, is built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. ... Exocet missile in flight A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a projectile propelled as a weapon at a target. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... An air-to-surface missile (also, air-to-ground missile, ASM or AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft (bombers, attack aircraft, fighter aircraft or other kinds) and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both. ... USS Lake Champlain, a Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided missile cruiser, launched in 1987 The Aegis combat system is an integrated missile guidance system used by the United States Navy. ... RBS-15 missile launched from a Sisu missile carriage. ... Phalanx CIWS A Close-in weapon system (CIWS) is a naval shipboard weapon system for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range (the threat(s) having penetrated the ships available outer defences). ... A cutaway of a turret mounting 16in guns Yard workers hoist one of nine 16/50 Mark VII gun barrles aboard the USS Iowa during her construction in 1942 The Iowa class battleship USS Iowa fires a full broadside of her 16/50 Mark 7 guns The 16/50 Mark... The Iowa-class battleships were the biggest, the most powerful, and the last battleships built for the United States Navy. ... Four aircraft carriers, (front-to-back) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp, supercarrier USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences. ...

A submarine tests fires a torpedo by sinking the derelict vessel HMAS Torrens (DE-53).

For submarines, both fast attack and ballistic missile (or "boomers"), live fire tests may include firing sea-to-land missiles at targets on shore or launching dummy ballistic missiles; however, the most frequent live fire exercises conducted by submarines involve firing torpedoes at a target. The best known tests of torpedoes are those conducted against a derelict ship, typically on ships from a Navy's own mothball fleet that has become too old or obsolete to warrant maintaining. The purpose of these tests is to ensure that the torpedo will work under combat conditions, and such tests can be used to determine whether or not noisemakers or other decoys will have any effect against the unit when launched.
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1032, 508 KB) Mark 48 torpedo testing. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1032, 508 KB) Mark 48 torpedo testing. ... A Mark 48 torpedo fired by the Farncomb destroyed the Torrens in a test The second HMAS Torrens (DE-53) was a River class destroyer escort laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Propriety Limited at Sydney in New South Wales on 18 August 1965, launched on 28... Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... A reserve fleet or (less formally) mothball fleet is a collection of naval vessels that are fully equipped for fighting but are not currently needed. ... See Firecracker (album) for information on the Lisa Loeb album. ... A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. ...

Use against training soldiers

Some forces, especially in more authoritarian societies, have also been known to use live ammunition against their own forces in military exercises,^{[citation needed]} to ensure that the soldiers 'take their training seriously' and get accustomated to being shot at before facing actual enemies. This kind of fire is usually not intended to kill anyone, though practices such as firing into the ground close to a soldier going through an obstacle course pose obvious risks. The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ...

In some fictional scenarios such as the training of the soldiers in Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a small fraction of the ammunition shot at the soldiers during exercises is real, and the shots are fully aimed. This again is intended to encourage soldiers to take their training seriously, knowing that failure is possibly deadly. Starship Troopers is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (October, November 1959, as Starship Soldier) and published hardcover in 1959. ...

Royal Marines use live fire agianst soldiers during final training.

The civilian arena

Cannon in a Civil War re-enactment: The large amounts of gunpowder often affected visibility significantly. Gunners hope for a strong wind that will allow them to continue to see their target.

Weapons tests are not usually conducted by civilian agencies; however, some civilian groups do conduct live fire tests of equipment to ensure that they work properly or to test new methods. Examples here would include law enforcement agencies (shooting ranges) and controlled explosions by demolition experts . Sometimes historical recreations, such as those done for the Battle of Gettysburg, will include live fire demonstrations so the general public can observe historical equipment in action.
Civil-war era cannons firing Taken by Elf | Talk Oct 95 Ft. ... Civil-war era cannons firing Taken by Elf | Talk Oct 95 Ft. ... Reenactors of the American Civil War Historical reenactment is an activity in which participants recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. ... For the band, see The Police. ... An outdoor shooting range with a sheltered shooting stand and several other unsheltered stands. ... A controlled explosion is used as a method for detonating or disabling a suspected device. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America Commanders George Gordon Meade Robert Edward Lee Strength 93,921 71,699 Casualties 23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured/missing) 23,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured/missing) The Battle of...

Other types

Testing of the LG-118A Peacekeeper re-entry vehicles, all eight fired from only one missile. Each line represents the path of a warhead which, were it live, would detonate with the explosive power of twenty-five Hiroshima-style weapons.

Other types of live fire exercises include various nuclear tests conducted by the world's nuclear powers. Also in this group are the live fire tests of new and exotic weaponry like the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or "Mother of all Bombs". Also numbered among the unique weapons tests are test fires of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. Recently, a new addition was made to this area when live fire tests began of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed "Star Wars". These live fire tests are aimed at intercepting incoming enemy ballistic missiles before they can detonate over their designated target.
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3000x2272, 761 KB) LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3000x2272, 761 KB) LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ... Test launch of a Peacekeeper ICBM by the 576 Flight Test Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, CA (USAF) The LG-118A Peacekeeper was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. ... A postwar Little Boy casing mockup. ... Preparation for an underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site in the 1980s. ... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) (also known as the Mother Of All Bombs) is a large-yield conventional bomb developed by the United States military by Albert L. Weimorts Jr. ... A Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg AFB, California, United States. ... The MIRVed U.S. Peacekeeper missile, with the re-entry vehicles highlighted in red. ... The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), commonly called Star Wars after the popular science fiction movies of the time, was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic...

Dangers of live fire exercises

USS Iowa’s #2 turret exploded 19 April 1989 for undetermined reasons during a routine live fire training exercise. Forty-seven sailors died as a result of the blast.

One cannot address live fire exercises without addressing their potential dangers. In any situation in which hazardous materials are involved there exists the potential for a mishap to occur, and when these mishaps occur the results can be as spectacular as they are deadly. All forms of ordnance contain some type of explosive charge to launch and, in most cases, detonate, a weapon. If these charges are inappropriately stored or handled the result can be serious injury or death to the person and anyone in the immediate vicinity. Other dangers include faulty guidance and sensory information, which can cause guided ordnance to inadvertently target friendly or neutral units. Advances in technology have helped to reduce, and in some cases eliminate, problems with these materials; nonetheless, extreme care must be given when using or implementing them. For example, the handling of gunpowder demands the use of gloves and an area free of static electricity and other potential sparks which could ignite the powder. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 566 pixel Image in higher resolution (3000 × 2123 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 566 pixel Image in higher resolution (3000 × 2123 pixel, file size: 2. ... USS Iowa (BB-61), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy, but second to be commissioned, to be named in honor of the 29th state. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A hazardous material (HAZMAT) is any solid, liquid, or gas that can cause harm to humans, other living organisms, or the environment due to being radioactive, flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive, a biohazard, an oxidizer, an asphyxiant, or capable of causing severe allergic reactions. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Blackpowder. ... A glove (Middle English from Old English glof) is a type of garment which covers the hand. ... Static electricity is a class of phenomena involving the net charge present on an object; typically referring to charged object with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction, repulsion, and sparks. ...

References