Atlas Trail
Adopted Since 1965: Weapons from the Shrike to the M7
This path follows ten weapons first fielded between 1965 and 2024, from an American anti-radar missile to the rifle that replaced the M4. It moves through a French tank, rifles from South Africa, Russia, Israel, Turkey and the United States, and a Russian fighter and a Chinese armored vehicle, showing what armed forces chose to field in each decade.
Stop 1 of 10.
Weapons Systems
The Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile built to home in on hostile anti-aircraft radar. It was developed at the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by fitting a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow, and it was phased out by the United States in 1992 in favor of the AGM-88 HARM.
Stop 2 of 10.
Weapons Systems
The first AMX-30 tanks were issued to the 501st Regiment de Chars de Combat in August 1966. French designers gave up armor protection for mobility and speed, and the tank carried a 105mm gun whose Obus G round used ball bearings so the barrel could spin the shell without spinning the shaped-charge warhead inside.
Stop 3 of 10.
Weapons Systems
Adapted from the Israeli Galil by Lyttelton Engineering Works, now Denel Land Systems, the R4 entered service in 1980 as the standard rifle of the South African Defence Force. It replaced the FN FAL derived R1 and remains standard issue in South Africa today.
Stop 4 of 10.
Weapons Systems
Developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the twin-engine two-seat Su-30 first flew on December 31, 1989, and entered service in 1992. The upgraded Su-30SM appeared in 2013, and as of 2024 the Russian Aerospace Forces operated roughly 130 of them.
Stop 5 of 10.
Weapons Systems
The Vikhr is a compact 9x39mm rifle developed between 1989 and 1994 from the AS Val, without its integral suppressor and with a folding stock for concealed carry. It entered service with Russia's Federal Security Service in 1996, and its high manufacturing cost kept it from wider military use.
Stop 6 of 10.
Weapons Systems
China's eight-wheeled amphibious armored vehicle entered service in 2008 and is built as a family of variants on one chassis. It is powered by a Deutz diesel of about 440 horsepower and swims using hydraulically controlled water jets, and more than 6,150 have been produced for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force and Marine Corps.
Stop 7 of 10.
Weapons Systems
Entering service in 2008, the Galil ACE is a modernized redesign of the original Galil from Israel Weapon Industries. It swaps the earlier rifle's all-steel receiver for a lighter steel-and-polymer one while keeping the ergonomics, ease of maintenance and reliability of the original.
Stop 8 of 10.
Weapons Systems
The Turkish National Infantry Rifle is an AR-15 style family fielded since 2014, with the first batch of 200 MPT-76s delivered on 18 May 2014. It has replaced the Heckler & Koch G3 and HK33 in Turkish service and comes in 5.56mm, 7.62mm and 6.8mm variants.
Stop 9 of 10.
Weapons Systems
Named for the Israeli city of Arad and designed in 2019, this AR-15 style rifle uses a short-stroke gas piston rather than direct impingement. It allows quick caliber changes among four cartridges and has been adopted by special forces and police units in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Peru and India.
Stop 10 of 10.
Weapons Systems
The M7 is the SIG MCX-SPEAR variant that the United States Army chose through the Next Generation Squad Weapon program, chambered in 6.8x51mm. SIG Sauer won a ten-year Army contract in April 2022, and the rifle began reaching troops in March 2024 as the replacement for the M4 carbine.
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