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Alive fire exercise (LFX) is amilitary exercise in which liveammunition andordnance is used, as opposed toblanks ordummies. The term can also be found in non-military usage.
Militaries 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 casualties, and will likely be owned by the government that authorized the test. Most live-fire tests are conducted either against derelict equipment (such as tanks and ships) or against remotely controlled drones.
The purpose of this type of exercise is twofold: 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-rangetelescopic devices, such asbinoculars.
An army, being the main branch responsible for land combat, is the best known group that conducts live-fire exercises. Most live-fire exercises occur within themilitary base where the units conducting the exercise are located. In some cases, an installation may host units from another for a larger live-fire exercise. Equipment tested under these circumstances range fromsmall arms androcket launcher fire tomissile systems andartillery fire. In the case of small arms, the tests are usually proficiency based and aimed at ensuring a soldier can fire their assigned weapons. Missile systems may be test-fired at remotely controlled drones to emulate a situation in which enemy missiles or aircraft are launched at allied or friendly forces, while artillery units can take the opportunity to test shells or fire under adverseweather conditions for a chance to test performance of artillery pieces.
Anair force, due to its nature, usually limits live-fire exercises to the air, although bombing exercises can be conducted as well.
During live-fire exercises dealing with air-to-air combat, remotely controlleddrones are frequently used to simulate enemyaircraft. In modern times, the drones are fired on by planes loaded with some type ofair-to-air missile, with the objective of the exercise being to destroy the drone. These tests 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 missile's susceptibility tojamming or to see if a new type of dodging technique will work against the missiles fired.
Live-fire exercises involving air-to-surface work are usually centered aroundprecision-guided munitions. In some cases, tests involving bombs will make use ofderelict buildings or, even more frequently, vehicles. 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 tests are usually monitored bychase planes and by cameras to determine if everything worked as it was originally intended to.
Live-fire exercises may also be conducted against planes for the purpose of testing a plane's susceptibility to SAM sites, or as a means to test a plane's stealth features.
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Naval live-fire exercises may use anti-shipmissiles andtorpedoes, although tests involving air-to-air andair-to-surface missiles, guns and bombs are not uncommon. Navies conduct live-fire exercises to test elements of an integrated defense system, such as the USAegis; namely, its ability to track and destroy enemyanti-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 aCIWS system, which is designed as the last line of defense for a ship. Surface ships also frequently test-fire the various guns kept and maintained aboard the vessel; these can range from sidearms and rifles up to the16" guns of the mothballed USIowa-classbattleships. This is done to maintain the skill and knowledge needed to operate the weapon. In the case ofaircraft 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.
Forsubmarines, 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 a ship from a navy's ownmothball 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 otherdecoys will have any effect against the unit when launched.
Some forces, especially more elite ones, 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 accustomed 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.
GermanWaffen SS training involved the usage of live ammunition, designed to make the soldiers tougher than regular soldiers.[1][dubious –discuss]
A similar live nuclear test was performed by theUS Marine Corps Test Unit andUS Army Armored Task Force "Razor" during exerciseTeapot (Desert Rock VI) at theNevada Test Site in 1955.
The BritishSAS andRoyal Marines are also known to use live rounds, for the former during the jungle phase of training, and the latter using live rounds in their final exercise.[citation needed] The SAS also use live-fire in regular close quarter combat training.[citation needed]
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 includelaw enforcement agencies (shooting ranges) andcontrolled explosions by demolition experts. Sometimes,historical reenactments, such as those done for theBattle of Gettysburg, will include live-fire demonstrations so the general public can observe historical equipment in action.[citation needed]
Other types of live-fire exercises include variousnuclear tests conducted by the world's nuclear powers. Also in this group are the live-fire tests of new and exotic weaponry like theMassive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or "Mother of all Bombs". Also numbered among the unique weapons tests are test fires ofintercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) andmultiple 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.
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In any situation in whichhazardous 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 ofexplosive 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 ofgunpowder demands the use ofgloves and an area free ofstatic electricity and other potential sparks which could ignite the powder.
