Humvees are droppable from a variety of aircraft, and its high power-to-weight ratio, four-wheel drive and high ground clearance combine to give it outstanding cross-country mobility.

Factoid: The Humvee has a snorkel kit which allows it to ford 60" of water.

Length: 15 ft
Width: 7.08 ft
Height: 6.00 feet reducible to 4.5 feet
Weight: 5,200 lbs
Engine: V8, 6.2 litre displacement, fuel injected diesel, liquid cooled, compression ignition
Horsepower: 150 at 3,600 RPM
Transmission: 3 speed, automatic
Transfer Case: 2 speed, locking, chain driven
Electrical System: 24 volt, negative ground, 60 amps
Brakes: Hydraulic, 4-wheeled disc
Max Speed: 65 mph

The SAW entered the field in the mid-1980’s to fill in the gap caused by the retirement of the Browning Automatic Rifle 30 years earlier.

Primary function: 5.56 mm light machine gun for use in infantry squads

Weight:With bipod and tools, 15.16 pounds (6.88 kilograms); 200-round box magazine adds 6.92 pounds (3.14 kilograms); 30-round magazine adds 1.07 pounds (0.49 kilograms)

Maximum effective range:3,281 feet (1,000 meters)

Rate of fire:Cyclic, 725 rounds per minute; sustained, 85 rounds per minute

The rifle cartridge range is farther and more effective than ever before. The M16A2 can also fire all NATO standard 5.56mm ammunition and, equipped with the M203 Grenade Launcher, can fire 40mm missiles.

Lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, the M16A2 can be fired from the shoulder or the hip. A selector level allows the soldier to shoot in modes of automatic fire, in 3-round bursts, or single-shot semiautomatic fire. A muzzle compensator improves the control and accuracy of the M16A2, and a fully adjustable rear sight has been enhanced for wind and range changes.

Factoid:The M16A2 has a modified upper receiver that changes the way cartridges are ejected. They used to hit left-handed shooters in the face.

Effective range:550 meters
Reload time: 4.9 seconds
Cyclic rate of fire: 800 rpm
Maximum range: 3,600 meters
Weight (loaded): 8.79 lbs
Length: 39.63 inches

Gas operated, and air-cooled, it has a collapsible stock and can be fitted with rubber bullets for crowd control. The M4A1, the version made for Special Operations Forces, has a full automatic mode. But the tradeoff for making a shorter, handier version of the M16 has been in penetration, velocity and accuracy over longer ranges.

Primary function: 5.56 mm rifle for close-quarters battle
Weight: 7.92 pounds (3.6 kilograms)
Maximum effective range: area target, 2,624.8 feet (800 meters); point target, 1,650 feet (500 meters)
Rate of fire: 45 rounds per minute, semiautomatic
Other features: Can be fitted with M203 grenade launcher
Used by: Marine Expeditionary Units and U.S. Army units

Various other armies worldwide have adopted the Beretta for force protection. The handgun can be fired in double or single action mode. It has a reversible magazine release and a rear sight for spontaneous targeting. The Beretta 9mm is safe and reliable, but it's the immense power and precision that make it the military's top gun.

Though the US government had ordered 9mm Glock pistols for the Iraqis, the arrival and distribution hadn't made its way into Fallujah by the time the police station was overrun. The supply of weapons at the Fallujah station was so low - one gun to every four officers. According to one policeman, officers were bringing weapons from home for additional protection. Ammunition for the government-issued weaponry was inadequate too. One survivor of the police raid reported having just 10 bullets in his Kalashnikov to fend off the attackers. He survived by playing dead under a desk and managing to kick a grenade out the door. Before work the following day, he bought more bullets.

Factoid: The Beretta family has an amazing 475 years of experience in gun making and firearms expertise.

Length: 8.54 inches (21.69 centimeters)
Width: 1.50 inches (3.81 centimeters)
Height: 5.51 inches (14 centimeters)
Barrel length: 4.92 inches (12.5 centimeters)
Weight fully loaded: 2.55 pounds (1.16 kilograms)
Bore diameter: 9mm (approximately .355 inches)
Maximum effective range: 152.5 feet (50 meters)
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds
Muzzle velocity: 1200 feet (365 meters) per second
Unit Replacement Cost: $263

Designed as an extremely effective tank-killer, it’s GPS navigation systems and high maneuverability allow it to pop up from behind a hill, deliver a lethal salvo of missiles, and drop down before enemy guns can engage. It has a twin-engine, four-blade design, with a two-person seating configuration. The pilot sits in back of the cockpit, aided by a Pilot Night Vision Sensor, and the co-pilot gunner sits in front, using a Target Acquisition Designation Sight to destroy armor quickly and effectively. Its only drawback is that it requires a huge ground support crew to keep it flying and fighting. (photo courtesy of Nicki Mennekens)

Height: 13 ft
Length: 58 ft
Weight: 10.5 tons
Crew: Two
Speed: 227 mph
Speed: 300 miles, unrefueled (more than 1,200 miles with refueling)

Factoid: The AK-47's inventor never earned a single ruble for the 100 million AKs in the world today. He didn't patent it.

Primary function: 7.62-mm assault rifle
Weight: 9.4 pounds (4.3 kilograms) with 30-round curved box magazine
Rate of fire: 100 rounds per minute/cyclic 600 rounds per minute
Effective range: 990 feet (300 meters)

Factoid: In the Mogadishu ambush, it was an RPG the Somalis used to down the Blackhawk.

Primary function: Shoulder fired anti-tank weapon
Weight: 15.2 pounds (6.9 kilograms)
Effective range: 1,640 feet (500 meters)
Rate of fire: Four to six rounds per minute
Ammunition: 85 mm grenade
Other features: Can penetrate 260 mm armor

Min. Range: 166 yds.
Kill radius: 70 yds.
Cannon Assembly: 110 lbs.
Bipod: 70 lbs.
Baseplate: 136 lbs.
Trailer: 399 lbs.

Maximum effective range: 5700 yds.
Minimum Range: 80 yds.
Length: 56 in.
Mortar Assembly: 35 pounds
Bipod: 26 pounds
Baseplate: 25.5 pounds
Sight Unit: 2.5 pounds

For all the technology and weaponry of the armed forces, it is a debilitating tactic. Even the toughest soldiers and the brightest engineers have difficulty combating the impact of hidden tape and electrical wire, 9-volt batteries, and old artillery casings. Remotely detonated with the ring of a cell phone or the ding of a doorbell, the IED kills and wounds troops and diverts funds and manpower from humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Deploying Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists to disarm the weaponry, survey the sites, and research materials used in the IEDs has come with a price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

So far, Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians have destroyed 3.1 million pieces of artillery and 7.5 million pounds of explosives. But there are a staggering amount of IEDs still laying in wait. For every IED or car bomb that detonates, there are at least 20 others found by US troops that must be defused. And still, the Pentagon estimates 6 in 10 IEDs will go unnoticed before it is too late.

The IED detonation is sometimes followed by small arms attacks, but rebel forces are realizing IEDs alone may be the most effective weapon against convoys. Many of Iraq's roads are paved, four to eight lane highways that US forces use for high-speed movement. But the coalition traffic pattern is consistent, so enemies can easily predict the convoys' flow. Litter-strewn medians divide the lanes and provide the perfect cover for IEDs.

IEDs have been found in soda cans and ready-to-eat meal boxes as well as inside manholes, tunnels, and broken curbs, on telephone poles, and inside dead dogs and cows. They are crude, but IEDs are the insurgents' most efficient way to neutralize the battlefield from a distance, much like American forces use air power. To date, 40 to 60 percent of insurgent attacks involve an IED.

The supply of 155mm artillery shells is seemingly endless, even though weapons ammunition dumps are under surveillance. Most recently, analysts are concerned some of the 350 metric tons of high explosives reported missing from an Iraqi base may be used to make an untold number of IEDs.

In an effort to maximize the devastating blasts from IEDs, insurgents have begun packing the bombs with ball bearings, bolts, or any readily available shrapnel. Jammed with enough loose metal, the IED can shred the armor plating on a HMMWV. Using a daisy-chain, IEDs can be strung together to create multiple, simultaneous bombs a dozen yards long, creating an inescapable kill zone for coalition soldiers.

US military units have discovered IEDs containing mustard gas which, luckily, were improperly stored, rendering the poison ineffective. And just six months ago, a US convoy discovered a 155-millimeter artillery round converted to an IED. It looked like a typical makeshift bomb, but this one contained the nerve agent sarin.

As the means to kill increase, so do insurgent rewards. With stockpiles of cash, senior Ba'athists have offered to rebel fighters as much as $1,500 per dead soldier, and anyone who kills a bomb-squad technician gets $5,000, an amount it would take an Iraqi laborer 33 years to earn.