The Browning heavy machine gun was designed towards the end of World War I. Development of a large-caliber machine gun in the USA was initiated at the direct request of General Pershing, the commander of US expeditionary corps in Europe. He requested a large-caliber machine gun, capable of destroying military aircraft and ground targets such as armored cars and tanks. The task of developing such a gun was passed to John Browning. The task of developing ammunition for this new weapon was passed to Winchester Arms company. This machine gun is similar to John Browning's earlier M1919 machine gun, that was chambered for a standard rifle cartridge. In around 1917 Browning started to redesign his weapon for a larger caliber. His new machine gun was chambered for much larger and much more powerful 12.7x99 mm (.50 caliber) cartridge, that was developed alongside this weapon by Wincherster. That's why sometimes this weapon is simply referred as Browning .50 caliber machine gun. After the John Browning's death in 1926, the design of this weapon was finalized by other designers. This machine gun entered service with the US armed forces in 1933 and was manufactured by Colt. Design of this weapon proved to be extremely successful. Since the 1930s it has been used extensively to the present day. This remarkable weapon has seen service during countless wars all over the world. Only during WWII nearly 2 million of these HMGs were produced. It has been in production longer than any other machine gun and its production still continues. Furthermore the M2 machine gun has been in use longer than any other small arm in the US armed forces inventory, except the M1911 pistol, that was also designed by John Browning. The M2 machine gun is currently manufactured by General Dynamics and US Ordnance companies. Since the 1930s this weapon is license-produced by FN Herstal of Belgium. Currently the M2 is used by about 100 countries all over the world. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries. The M2 is typically used as a vehicle weapon or helicopter armament. It can be also used from a tripod. This heavy machine gun is highly effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles, boats, light fortifications and helicopters. It is closer in power to a small cannon. This weapon is typically used with standard ball, tracer, armor-piercing, armor-piercing incendiary, or armor-piercing incendiary tracer rounds. There is also an M962 SLAP-T (Saboted Light Armor Penetrator) round, fitted with a tungsten penetrator. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA-wOZSwYu4

To the West, most of the legendary Soviet aircraft of the Cold War came from the design bureau Mikoyan Gurevitch, which spawned such aircraft as the MiG-15 “Fagot,” MiG-21 “Fishbed,” MiG-25 “Foxbat” and MiG-29 “Fulcrum.” The single best Soviet fighter of the Cold War, however, was Sukhoi’s Su-27 “Flanker.” Intended both to defeat U.S. fighters over central Europe in a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict and to patrol the airspace of the Soviet Union against U.S. bomber incursions, the Su-27 survived the end of the Cold War to become one of the world’s premier export fighters. The Flanker emerged as part of the high part of the high-low fighter mix that both the United States and the Soviet Union adopted in the 1970s and 1980s. In the U.S. Air Force this manifested in the F-15 and F-16; in the U.S. Navy, the F-14 and F/A-18. The MiG-29 “Fulcrum” played the light role in the Soviet partnership. Sukhoi designed the Flanker with the capabilities of the F-15 Eagle firmly in mind, and the aircraft that emerged resembles the fast, heavily armed, long-ranged Eagle in many ways. Whereas the Eagle looks healthy and well-fed, the Flanker has a gaunt, hungry appearance. Although designed as an air superiority aircraft, the Su-27 (much like the Eagle) has proven flexible enough to adapt to interceptor and ground strike roles. Sukhoi has also developed a wide family of variants, specialized for particular missions but retaining overall multirole capabilities. The Su-27 entered service more slowly than its fourth-generation counterparts in the United States (or the MiG-29, for that matter). A series of disastrous tests bedeviled the program’s early years, with several pilots dying in early versions of the Flanker. As it entered service in the mid-1980s, production problems slowed its transition to front-line status. And of course, the end of the Cold War curtailed the overall production run of the aircraft. The Su-27’s capabilities are formidable. The Flanker can reach Mach 2.35 with a thrust-to-weight ratio above one (depending on fuel load). It can carry up to eight air-to-air missiles (generally of short to medium range; other variants specialize in Beyond Visual Range combat) or an array of bombs and missiles. In the hands of an experienced pilot, the Su-27 can carry out a bewildering array of maneuvers, many of which have delighted air show audiences across Russia and Europe. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCb54HmpsJk