heavy ordnance
Military large-caliber weapons
Heavy ordnance refers to large-caliber military weapons—artillery, bombs, missiles, and similar armaments designed for maximum destructive impact.
The term distinguishes these from small arms like rifles and handguns.
In casual use, heavy ordnance can describe any overwhelming force or firepower: They brought out the heavy ordnance to finish the debate.
- howitzersHigh-angle artillery weapons
- cannonsLarge mounted artillery pieces
- mortarsBowls for grinding
- ballisticsProjectile motion science
- field gunsTowable battlefield artillery pieces
artillery · siege engines · railguns · coastal defense · propellants · naval guns · arms race · autocannons · rocket launchers · aerial defense · naval warfare · rangefinders · trench warfare · scorched earth · ground zero · danger close · bombardment · targeting systems
- coastal artillerycoastal batteries, gun emplacements, Fort Sumter, Fort McHenry
heavy ordnancesmall arms
Handheld military weapons
light weapons · sidearms · handguns · pistols · rifles
heavy ordnancenon-lethal weapons
Armaments designed to incapacitate
rubber bullets · tear gas · stun grenades · pepper spray · tasers
heavy ordnancemedical equipment
Tools for patient care
agricultural equipment · construction materials · diplomatic channels · negotiation
heavy, heavier, heaviest, heavily, heaviness, ordnance, ordain, ordained, ordaining