NATO's 5 Most Lethal Weapons of War

Kyle Mizokami

Security,

The world's most powerful military alliance certainly has the firepower to take on all challengers...

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed on April 4th, 1949. A political military alliance, it was the result of Cold War tensions between the United States and Western Europe on one side and the Soviet Union on the other.

The continued stationing of large amounts Soviet forces in Eastern Europe made a common defense organization necessary. It was also a way to keep the United States and Canada engaged in the defense of Western Europe from the outset of any conflict, furthering the alliance’s deterrent value.

Article 5 of the NATO charter is the real meat of the alliance agreement. An attack on one member is considered an attack against all. Interestingly, although Article 5 was long associated with a possible Soviet attack on Western Europe, the only time it was invoked was after the September 11th attacks.

The NATO alliance has sought to standardize on a variety of military equipment. Ships, aircraft and armored vehicles are often purchased by multiple NATO member countries. Rifle magazine designs are standardized for interoperability purposes, so that a British SA-80 rifle will take magazines from an Norwegian Heckler and Koch 416. Tank main gun ammunition, machine gun ammunition, artillery and mortar rounds are all standardized. Here are some of the alliance’s most lethal combat systems, each operated by two or more member states.

F-16 Fighting Falcon:

If there was ever a common NATO fighter aircraft, the F-16 is it. Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and the United States all fly one variant of the F-16 or another. In the three decades since deliveries began each country upgraded their fighters at their own pace, leaving the NATO fleet widely varied in capability.

Originally conceived as a lightweight dogfighter with strong export potential, the F-16 has gradually evolved into a genuine multi-role fighter. Over its long career in NATO service, a Dutch F-16 shot down a MiG-29 in the Balkans, and Dutch, Belgian, Danish and Norwegian F-16s have bombed targets in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya.

The F-16 multinational development program was the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter of its time. Most NATO F-16 fleets will be eventually replaced by the F-35.

Panzerhaubitze 2000:

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