Editing Weapons platform (section)

{{Short description|Structure that can carry weapons}}
{{history of war}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2008}}
A '''weapons platform''' is generally any [[building|structure]], [[vehicle]] or [[mechanism (engineering)|mechanism]] on which a [[weapon]] can be installed (via various [[weapon mount|mounting mechanism]]s) for optimal stability and performance. The mounted weapons, the platform and all other associated supporting equipments together form the '''weapon system'''.

In more general use, a weapons platform could be structured around a [[gun]], such as a [[gun turret]] on a [[ship]], or [[Wing configuration#Wing support|bracing]] on an [[aircraft]]. For example, a [[jet aircraft]] is a weapons platform for [[missile]]s, [[bomb]]s or [[autocannon]]s, and the resultant weapon system is the [[fighter jet]]; a [[motorboat]] can serve as a weapons platform for [[automatic weapon]]s, [[torpedo]]es and [[flamethrower]]s, resulting in weapon systems such as [[gunboat]]s and [[fast attack craft]]s. Land vehicles, either [[wheeled vehicle|wheeled]], [[tracked vehicle|tracked]] or [[halftrack|mixed]], are also considered weapons platforms for [[grenade launcher]]s, [[machine gun]]s, [[recoilless gun]]s and some [[missile launcher]]s, which transform the vehicles into weapon systems such as [[armored car (military)|armored car]]s (such as the [[Humvee]]), [[infantry fighting vehicle|IFV]]s and [[technical (vehicle)|technical]]s ([[improvised fighting vehicle|improvised]] from civilian [[pickup truck]]s). In addition, [[artificial satellite]]s have been proposed as potential [[space weapon]] platforms. These satellites could carry an arsenal of weapons, such as to threaten other countries with the possibility of an orbital [[nuclear strike]] (see [[Rods from God]]).

The earliest weapons platforms were [[chariot]]s, followed by [[war wagon]]s. The ancient Greek [[Helepolis]], a massive [[siege tower]] which mounted catapults, could also be considered a weapons platform. The next attempt to mount weapons on platforms was made at sea, with catapults and eventually cannon mounted on their final form as [[ships of the line]] before the advent of [[ironclad warships]] mounting turrets.

On land, the attempt to mount weapons on mobile platforms in the modern period was first made with [[railway gun]]s. These, as forms of [[artillery]], were the last vestiges of development of the super-weapon thinking before the advent of the [[tank]]s that changed the use of weapons platforms in warfare, although the largest railway guns were still used during the [[Second World War]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]].<ref>{{cite web | access-date=2019-09-01 | archive-date=2009-03-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303081327/http://www.aopt91.dsl.pipex.com:80/railgun/Content/Railwayguns/German/Dora%20index.htm | url-status=dead | url=http://www.aopt91.dsl.pipex.com:80/railgun/Content/Railwayguns/German/Dora%20index.htm | title=Dora, the world's largest railway gun | website=The Railway Gun Web-Museum}}</ref>