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125-462: The Bradley is designed for reconnaissance and to transport a nine-man rifle squad, providing them protection from small arms fire, while providing firepower to both suppress and eliminate most threats to friendly infantry. It is designed to be highly maneuverable and to be fast enough to keep up with heavy armor during an advance. The M2 holds a crew of three: a commander, a gunner, and a driver, and can carry six fully equipped soldiers as passengers. In

250-519: A Leopard 2A6 . Several more were lost to mines and ATGMs while attempting to breach Russian defensive lines. Ukrainian soldiers lauded the survivability of the Bradley, saying it protected them from hits that would have been lethal if sustained by a Soviet APC, and that many of the vehicles that became disabled from combat damage could be recovered and repaired. Ukraine's deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram that one M2 Bradley assigned to

375-639: A belief that Soviet tanks had sufficient armour, the research was ended. No more research was conducted until 1974, when the Ministry of the Defensive Industry announced a contest to find the best tank protection . Picatinny Arsenal , an American military research and manufacturing facility experimented with testing linear cutting charges against anti-tank ammunition in the 1950s, and concluded that they may be effective with an adequate sensing and triggering mechanism, but noted "tactical limitations";

500-531: A button-up firing position to replace the top-side gunners on the old ACAV, though the M231 is rarely employed. Initial variants carried six, but the side ports were plated over with the new armor used on the A2 and A3 variants, leaving only the two rear-facing mounts in the loading ramp. The M2's base armor consists of an all-around 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick aluminum hull (mix of no. 5083 and no. 7039 alloys), heavily sloped in

625-593: A common chassis. It would consist of eight variants, including infantry carriers, scouting vehicles and main battle tanks. FCS was canceled in 2009 due to budget cuts. In 2010, the Army began the Ground Combat Vehicle program to replace the M2 Bradley. Entries from BAE and General Dynamics were selected for evaluation. Concerns grew around the vehicle's proposed weight of around 70 tons. The GCV program

750-487: A dollar are emitted as Federal Reserve Notes , disregarding these special cases: In the 16th century, Count Hieronymus Schlick of Bohemia began minting coins known as joachimstalers , named for Joachimstal , the valley in which the silver was mined. In turn, the valley's name is titled after Saint Joachim , whereby thal or tal , a cognate of the English word dale , is German for 'valley.' The joachimstaler

875-757: A dollar, and dimes at 0.100 of a dollar. After the adoption of the United States Constitution , the U.S. dollar was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 . It specified a "dollar" based on the Spanish milled dollar to contain 371 + 4 ⁄ 16 grains of fine silver, or 416.0 grains (26.96 g) of "standard silver" of fineness 371.25/416 = 89.24%; as well as an "eagle" to contain 247 + 4 ⁄ 8 grains of fine gold, or 270.0 grains (17.50 g) of 22 karat or 91.67% fine gold. Alexander Hamilton arrived at these numbers based on

1000-648: A few cases, U.S. coins) used in circulation. The monetary policy of the United States is conducted by the Federal Reserve System , which acts as the nation's central bank . As of February 10, 2021, currency in circulation amounted to US$ 2.10 trillion , $ 2.05 trillion of which is in Federal Reserve Notes (the remaining $ 50 billion is in the form of coins and older-style United States Notes ). As of September 20, 2023,

1125-508: A fire-suppression system. In 1992, the M2A1s had begun being remanufactured to upgraded standards. The GPFU system was only connected to the vehicle commander, driver, and gunner, while the infantry squad had to use their own from MOPP suits. A seventh infantryman was added just behind the center of the turret. Introduced in 1988, the A2 received an improved 600 horsepower (447 kW) engine with an HMPT-500-3 Hydromechanical transmission. Armor

1250-442: A full squad in the Bradley is accomplished by squad splitting. A mechanized platoon consists of soldiers other than the squad members, and those soldiers must also ride in the vehicles. The original Bradley had room for 3 crew members and 6 passengers, called dismounts by the U.S. Army. An original mechanized platoon with four M2 Bradley vehicles included 12 crew and two infantry squads of 9 dismounts. Five other dismounts were also in

1375-545: A grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver. Section 20 of the Act designates the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States: [T]he money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units...and that all accounts in the public offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. Unlike

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1500-470: A high-power capacitor . In operation, a high-voltage power source charges the armour. When an incoming body penetrates the plates, it closes the circuit to discharge the capacitor, dumping a great deal of energy into the penetrator, which may vaporize it or even turn it into a plasma , significantly diffusing the attack. It is not public knowledge whether this is supposed to function against both kinetic energy penetrators and shaped charge jets, or only

1625-631: A kinematic lead solution if a target is moving. This functionality, very similar to that of the M1A2 Abrams, allows the gunner or commander to center the reticule on a moving target, lase the target, and achieve a first-round-hit, without the need to fire sensing rounds and adjust aim. The FCSW incorporates a thermal aided target tracker (ATT) function that can track two targets in the FLIR field of view and switch between them, primarily intended for employing TOW missiles against moving vehicles. The FCSW allows

1750-487: A layer of oxidiser, destroying the jet by burning it with oxidising agents. The earliest trials were done with small charges able to defeat 2 inch of steel plate which were readily defeated by a layer of explosive (Baratol, R.D.X., Cordite, etc.) or a vigorous oxidising medium. Subsequent trials with British No.68 and American M9A1 grenades were carried out. However trials were done in few numbers which caused varied results. A mixture of Sodium and Potassium Nitrates explosives

1875-575: A limited extent" as money. Treasury Notes were again printed to help resolve the reduction in public revenues resulting from the Panic of 1837 and the Panic of 1857 , as well as to help finance the Mexican–American War and the Civil War . Paper money was issued again in 1862 without the backing of precious metals due to the Civil War . In addition to Treasury Notes, Congress in 1861 authorized

2000-639: A pair of Ukrainian M2A2 Bradleys from the 47th Mechanized Brigade engaging and disabling a Russian T-90M Proryv tank at close range in Stepove , Ukraine. In an engagement which lasted ten minutes, the two Bradleys were able to incapacitate the tank by firing at the mechanism which turned the tank's turret, causing it to spin uncontrollably and render it inoperable. As of September 2024, at least 101 Ukrainian Bradleys had been confirmed to have been lost by photos or videos; 49 destroyed, 25 damaged, 23 damaged and abandoned and 4 captured. U.S. Army efforts to replace

2125-404: A penetrating weapon, the explosive detonates, forcibly driving the metal plates apart to damage the penetrator. The shaped charges on the other hand, each detonate individually, launching one spike-shaped plate each, meant to deflect, detonate or cut the incoming projectile. The disruption is attributed to two mechanisms. First, the moving plates change the effective velocity and angle of impact of

2250-531: A reconfigured version called the Iron Fist Light Decoupled were more successful, and the Army intends to field a brigade set in 2025. Funding to equip several dozen Bradleys with Iron Fist was secured in early 2024. The Bradley has a welded aluminum unit or monocoque structure to which the armor is attached, mostly on the outside. The suspension is by torsion bars and cranks. Six small rubber rimmed, divided road wheels on each side straddle

2375-479: A segment showing several masked members of the Russian recovery crews examining the vehicle. Ukrainian forces have used M2 Bradleys in ambushes and defensive fighting around Avdiivka . The 25 mm autocannon has been used to destroy three Russian MT-LB vehicles in one engagement, while also engaging supporting Russian infantry. The enhanced optics allow for night attacks. On 12 January 2024, footage emerged of

2500-541: A series of " overmatch " tests in which weapon systems would be fired at the Bradley that were known to be able to easily penetrate its armor. Burton saw attempts to avoid such tests as dishonest, while the BRL saw them as wasteful as they already knew the vehicle would fail. The disagreements became so contentious that a congressional inquiry was set up. As a result of the tests, additional improvements to vehicle survivability were added. By May 2000, 4,641 M2s had been produced for

2625-678: A series of revisions to the gold peg was implemented, culminating in the Nixon Shock of August 15, 1971, which suddenly ended the convertibility of dollars to gold. The U.S. dollar has since floated freely on the foreign exchange markets . Congress continued to issue paper money after the Civil War, the latest of which is the Federal Reserve Note that was authorized by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 . Since

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2750-442: A strong, depleted uranium core. An important aspect of ERA is the brisance , or detonation speed of its explosive element. A more brisant explosive and greater plate velocity will result in more plate material being fed into the path of the oncoming jet, greatly increasing the plate's effective thickness. This effect is especially pronounced in the rear plate receding away from the jet, which triples in effective thickness with double

2875-548: A tank it would have to be hit at close range in its more vulnerable areas. Subsequent ammunition developments resulted in the M919 APFSDS-T ( Armor-Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer) round, which contains a finned depleted-uranium penetrator similar in concept to armor-piercing munitions used in modern tanks. The M919 was used in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq . It

3000-492: A total of 40 soldiers in the four-vehicle platoon. With the extra men, the Army reorganized the Bradley platoon into 3 squads with 9 dismounts each. The Bradley crew of 12 stayed the same, thus there was room in the Bradleys for only one more dismount—the platoon leader. That new configuration did not leave room for the medic, platoon radio-telephone operator, or forward observers. In actual practice, however, units rarely have all

3125-487: A treasury assay of the average fine silver content of a selection of worn Spanish dollars , which came out to be 371 grains. Combined with the prevailing gold-silver ratio of 15, the standard for gold was calculated at 371/15 = 24.73 grains fine gold or 26.98 grains 22K gold. Rounding the latter to 27.0 grains finalized the dollar's standard to 24.75 grains of fine gold or 24.75*15 = 371.25 grains = 24.0566 grams = 0.7735 troy ounces of fine silver. The same coinage act also set

3250-410: Is explosive reactive armour (ERA), but variants include self-limiting explosive reactive armour (SLERA), non-energetic reactive armour (NERA), non-explosive reactive armour (NxRA), and electric armour. NERA and NxRA modules can withstand multiple hits, unlike ERA and SLERA. When a shaped charge strikes the upper plate of the armour, it detonates the inner explosive, releasing blunt damage that

3375-508: Is also armed with an M240C machine gun mounted coaxially to the M242, with 2,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. For engaging heavier targets, such as tanks, the Bradley has a TOW missile system onboard. It was changed from the M2A1 model to fire TOW II missiles. M2 infantry Bradleys have firing ports for a number of M231 Firing Port Weapons (FPWs; modified M16 assault rifles ), providing

3500-413: Is insensitive to impact by kinetic projectiles up to 30 mm in caliber. A 20 mm APIT autocannon round penetrates a Serbian ERA sample but fails to detonate it. However, computer simulations indicate that a small caliber (30 mm) HEAT projectile will detonate an ERA, as would larger shape charges and APFSDS penetrators. NERA and NxRA operate similarly to explosive reactive armour, but without

3625-493: Is not the weapon of choice for engaging tanks, but vehicle commanders, crews, and CALL and Army Infantry Center personnel have reported isolated instances in which the 25 mm automatic gun disabled older generation tanks. However, Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA) officials stated that, on the basis of their assessment of combat vehicles in the Persian Gulf war, for the 25 mm automatic gun to incapacitate

3750-454: Is one of the first words of Section 9, in which the term refers to the Spanish milled dollar , or the coin worth eight Spanish reales . In 1792, the U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act , of which Section 9 authorized the production of various coins, including: Dollars or Units —each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of

3875-460: Is that it is derived from the Pillars of Hercules on the Spanish coat of arms of the Spanish dollar . These Pillars of Hercules on the silver Spanish dollar coins take the form of two vertical bars ( || ) and a swinging cloth band in the shape of an S . Yet another explanation suggests that the dollar sign was formed from the capital letters U and S written or printed one on top of

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4000-489: Is the official currency of the United States and several other countries . The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar , divided it into 100 cents , and authorized the minting of coins denominated in dollars and cents. U.S. banknotes are issued in the form of Federal Reserve Notes , popularly called greenbacks due to their predominantly green color. The U.S. dollar

4125-517: The 47th Mechanized Brigade had been able to destroy two Russian T-72 tanks in a single engagement. On 5 November, pictures began to circulate on Russian social media of a captured M2A2 Bradley near the villages of Avdiivka and Stepove in Donetsk Oblast , bearing the BRAT (Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles) protection system. Footage of the captured Bradley was broadcast on Russia’s Channel 1, in

4250-468: The Coinage Act of 1834 the dollar's fine gold equivalent was revised to 23.2 grains; it was slightly adjusted to 23.22 grains (1.505 g) in 1837 (gold-silver ratio ~16). The same act also resolved the difficulty in minting the "standard silver" of 89.24% fineness by revising the dollar's alloy to 412.5 grains, 90% silver, still containing 371.25 grains fine silver. Gold was also revised to 90% fineness: 25.8 grains gross, 23.22 grains fine gold. Following

4375-551: The Comstock Lode in the 1870s. This was the so-called "Crime of '73". The Gold Standard Act of 1900 repealed the U.S. dollar's historic link to silver and defined it solely as 23.22 grains (1.505 g) of fine gold (or $ 20.67 per troy ounce of 480 grains). In 1933, gold coins were confiscated by Executive Order 6102 under Franklin D. Roosevelt , and in 1934 the standard was changed to $ 35 per troy ounce fine gold, or 13.71 grains (0.888 g) per dollar. After 1968

4500-545: The Continental Congress resolved that the money unit of the United States, the dollar, would contain 375.64 grains of fine silver; on August 8, 1786, the Continental Congress continued that definition and further resolved that the money of account, corresponding with the division of coins, would proceed in a decimal ratio , with the sub-units being mills at 0.001 of a dollar, cents at 0.010 of

4625-526: The Dutch pioneered in modern-day New York in the 17th century the use and the counting of money in silver dollars in the form of German-Dutch reichsthalers and native Dutch leeuwendaalders ('lion dollars'), it was the ubiquitous Spanish American eight-real coin which became exclusively known as the dollar since the 18th century. The colloquialism buck(s) (much like the British quid for

4750-630: The First World War , and displaced the pound sterling as the world's primary reserve currency by the Bretton Woods Agreement towards the end of the Second World War . The dollar is the most widely used currency in international transactions , and a free-floating currency . It is also the official currency in several countries and the de facto currency in many others, with Federal Reserve Notes (and, in

4875-512: The United States 's exorbitant privilege . The United States Mint has issued legal tender coins every year from 1792 to the present. From 1934 to the present, the only denominations produced for circulation have been the familiar penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. Reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators . The most common type

5000-401: The pound sterling ) is often used to refer to dollars of various nations, including the U.S. dollar. This term, dating to the 18th century, may have originated with the colonial leather trade, or it may also have originated from a poker term. Greenback is another nickname, originally applied specifically to the 19th-century Demand Note dollars, which were printed black and green on

5125-814: The Army restarted the program, promising to take on more responsibility for funding. American Rheinmetall Vehicles and General Dynamics Land Systems were selected in June 2023 to move forward with the program, with a winner to be selected in 2027 and the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle planned to be fielded by 2029. The M2 was the basic production model, designed to carry 10 person teams, first fielded in 1981. The M2 can be identified by its standard TOW missile system, steel laminate armor, and 500 horsepower (370 kW) Cummins VT903 engine with HMPT-500 hydromechanical transmission. Basic features included an integrated sight unit for

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5250-663: The Bradley began in the mid-1980s under the Armored Systems Modernization program. The Army studied creating several vehicle variants under a common heavy chassis to replace main battle tanks and Bradleys. This effort was canceled in 1992 due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The U.S. Army began the Future Combat Systems (FCS) Manned Ground Vehicles program in 1999. This family of 18-ton lightweight tracked vehicles centered around

5375-408: The Bradley was initially designed to float by deploying a flotation curtain around the vehicle. This caused some drownings due to failures during its first trials. Flotation was no longer possible after armor upgrades. Since 1986, the U.S. Army has believed 9 to be the optimal number of individuals in a mechanized squad. Because of the limited room available for passengers in the Bradley, accommodating

5500-464: The Bradley, additional problems occurred after production started, as later detailed by Air Force Colonel James G. Burton , who took part in the design and fielding process. Burton advocated the use of comprehensive live fire tests against fully loaded military vehicles to check for survivability. The Army and Navy agreed and established the Joint Live Fire testing program in 1984. When testing

5625-506: The Bradley, disagreements occurred between Burton and the Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) at Aberdeen Proving Grounds , which preferred smaller, more controlled, "building block" tests that could be used to improve the databases used to model vehicle survivability, as opposed to full up tests with random shots, which reduce the possibility of bias but produced little useful statistical data. Burton insisted on

5750-529: The Constitution provides that "a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time", which is further specified by Section 331 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code. The sums of money reported in the "Statements" are currently expressed in U.S. dollars, thus the U.S. dollar may be described as the unit of account of the United States. "Dollar"

5875-554: The FBCB2 and imagery from the IBAS, CIV, or Driver's Vision Enhancer (DVE) to familiarize themselves with their surroundings prior to dismounting. US$ This is an accepted version of this page The United States dollar ( symbol : $ ; currency code : USD ; also abbreviated US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies ; referred to as the dollar , U.S. dollar , American dollar , or colloquially buck )

6000-402: The FBCB2 and the vehicle navigation systems on a moving-map display. This allows the commander to communicate via text over FBCB2, and allows him to check vehicle built-in test (BIT) information and access various other information. The Squad Leader's Display (SLD) in the infantry compartment improves the situational awareness of the passengers by allowing them to view navigational information from

6125-582: The Federal Reserve estimated that the total amount of currency in circulation was approximately US$ 2.33 trillion . Article I , Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides that Congress has the power "[t]o coin money ." Laws implementing this power are currently codified in Title 31 of the U.S. Code , under Section 5112, which prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued. These coins are both designated in

6250-501: The M2 in a few subtle ways and by role. The M3 is classified as an armored reconnaissance and scout vehicle and does away with the firing ports found in the M2 series. The M3 carries more TOW missiles as well as more ammunition for its 25 mm and 7.62 mm guns. Introduced in 1986, the A1 variant included an improved TOW II missile system, a Gas Particulate Filter Units (GPFU) NBC system, and

6375-401: The M242 25 mm gun, and thermal imaging system. The M2 was amphibious with the use of a "swim barrier" or " flotation screen " and was transportable by C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy aircraft. All M2 vehicles have been upgraded to improved standards. The M2 armor protects the vehicle through a full 360 degrees against 14.5 mm armor-piercing incendiary (API) ammunition. The turret

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6500-739: The Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR) and the Digital Compass Systems (DCS), a missile countermeasure device designed to defeat first-generation wire-guided missiles, and the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) Battlefield Command Information System. The internal stowage was further improved and a thermal imaging system was added for the driver. The infantry squad was again increased to seven men, six of whom sat facing each other on two 3-man benches in

6625-948: The Spanish milled dollar, the Continental Congress and the Coinage Act prescribed a decimal system of units to go with the unit dollar, as follows: the mill , or one-thousandth of a dollar; the cent , or one-hundredth of a dollar; the dime , or one-tenth of a dollar; and the eagle , or ten dollars. The current relevance of these units: The Spanish peso or dollar was historically divided into eight reales (colloquially, bits ) – hence pieces of eight . Americans also learned counting in non-decimal bits of 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 cents before 1857 when Mexican bits were more frequently encountered than American cents; in fact this practice survived in New York Stock Exchange quotations until 2001. In 1854, Secretary of

6750-540: The Treasury James Guthrie proposed creating $ 100, $ 50, and $ 25 gold coins, to be referred to as a union , half union , and quarter union , respectively, thus implying a denomination of 1 Union = $ 100. However, no such coins were ever struck, and only patterns for the $ 50 half union exist. When currently issued in circulating form, denominations less than or equal to a dollar are emitted as U.S. coins , while denominations greater than or equal to

6875-854: The Treasury to borrow $ 50 million in the form of Demand Notes , which did not bear interest but could be redeemed on demand for precious metals. However, by December 1861, the Union government's supply of specie was outstripped by demand for redemption and they were forced to suspend redemption temporarily. In February 1862 Congress passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862 , issuing United States Notes , which were not redeemable on demand and bore no interest, but were legal tender , meaning that creditors had to accept them at face value for any payment except for public debts and import tariffs. However, silver and gold coins continued to be issued, resulting in

7000-594: The U.S. Army. Saudi Arabia stated an interest in acquiring the Bradley in 1989, and began importing the vehicle in 1990. Bradley production concluded in 1995. A total of 6,785 M2/M3 Bradleys were produced, including 400 for Saudi Arabia. During the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War , M2 Bradleys destroyed more Iraqi armored vehicles than the M1 Abrams . Twenty Bradleys were lost, three to enemy fire and 17 due to friendly fire incidents. Another 12 were damaged. To remedy some problems that were identified as contributing factors in

7125-632: The U.S. had determined that Ukrainian forces were proficient in maintenance and sustainment of such AFVs. Another 59 vehicles were included in another package later that month. Bradleys were first shown to be in Ukrainian service in mid-April 2023. Ukraine first employed M2 Bradleys in combat during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive beginning in early June 2023. On 8 June, Russian drone footage showed multiple Bradley Fighting Vehicles damaged and destroyed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast along with

7250-450: The United States and to supervise its banking system, particularly in the aftermath of the Panic of 1907 . For most of the post-war period, the U.S. government has financed its own spending by borrowing heavily from the dollar-lubricated global capital markets, in debts denominated in its own currency and at minimal interest rates. This ability to borrow heavily without facing a significant balance of payments crisis has been described as

7375-625: The United States until the Coinage Act of 1857 . In particular, colonists' familiarity with the Spanish two- real quarter peso was the reason for issuing a quasi-decimal 25-cent quarter dollar coin rather than a 20-cent coin. For the relationship between the Spanish dollar and the individual state colonial currencies, see Connecticut pound , Delaware pound , Georgia pound , Maryland pound , Massachusetts pound , New Hampshire pound , New Jersey pound , New York pound , North Carolina pound , Pennsylvania pound , Rhode Island pound , South Carolina pound , and Virginia pound . On July 6, 1785,

7500-402: The United States was a significant recipient of wartime gold inflows. After the United States emerged as an even stronger global superpower during the Second World War , the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 established the U.S. dollar as the world's primary reserve currency and the only post-war currency linked to gold. Despite all links to gold being severed in 1971, the dollar continues to be

7625-495: The aluminum armor. The hull top, bottom, and front consisted of 5083 aluminum armor, and 0.357 in (9.1 mm) steel armor was added to the front third of the hull bottom to increase mine protection. The M3 Bradley CFV is very similar to the M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and is fielded with the same two-man 25 mm Bushmaster cannon turret with the coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. It only varies from

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7750-432: The aluminum hull. The turret, unlike the hull, is armored only in steel. The M2A1 version has identical armor but adds a gas particulate filter unit for NBC protection. This armor offers protection against threats up to and including 14.5x114mm AP. The M2A2 upgrade adds additional armor. More steel applique armor is added to the vehicle's front, requiring removal of the trim-vane. 1.25 inch (32 mm) steel plates were added to

7875-461: The armour. This is almost the same as the second mechanism that explosive reactive armour uses, but it uses energy from the shaped charge jet rather than from explosives. Since the inner liner is non-explosive, the bulging is less energetic than on explosive reactive armour, and thus offers less protection than a similarly-sized ERA. However, NERA and NxRA are lighter, safe to handle, safer for nearby infantry, can theoretically be placed on any part of

8000-521: The average Spanish dollar in circulation. The new U.S. silver dollar of 371.25 grains (24.057 g) therefore compared favorably and was received at par with the Spanish dollar for foreign payments, and after 1803 the United States Mint had to suspend making this coin out of its limited resources since it failed to stay in domestic circulation. It was only after Mexican independence in 1821 when their peso's fine silver content of 377.1 grains

8125-500: The backside, created by Abraham Lincoln to finance the North for the Civil War . It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries). The term greenback is also used by the financial press in other countries, such as Australia , New Zealand , South Africa , and India . Other well-known names of the dollar as a whole in denominations include greenmail , green , and dead presidents ,

8250-440: The buying and selling of goods. This allowed the value of things to remain fairly constant over time, except for the influx and outflux of gold and silver in the nation's economy. Though a Spanish dollar freshly minted after 1772 theoretically contained 417.7 grains of silver of fineness 130/144 (or 377.1 grains fine silver), reliable assays of the period in fact confirmed a fine silver content of 370.95 grains (24.037 g) for

8375-414: The currency, a practice compared to the policies of European monarchs. The currency as we know it today did not get the faces they currently have until after the early 20th century; before that "heads" side of coinage used profile faces and striding, seated, and standing figures from Greek and Roman mythology and composite Native Americans. The last coins to be converted to profiles of historic Americans were

8500-632: The depreciation of the newly printed notes through Gresham's law . In 1869, Supreme Court ruled in Hepburn v. Griswold that Congress could not require creditors to accept United States Notes, but overturned that ruling the next year in the Legal Tender Cases . In 1875, Congress passed the Specie Payment Resumption Act , requiring the Treasury to allow U.S. Notes to be redeemed for gold after January 1, 1879. Though

8625-668: The dime (1946), the half Dollar (1948), and the Dollar (1971). After the American Revolution , the Thirteen Colonies became independent . Freed from British monetary regulations, they each issued £sd paper money to pay for military expenses. The Continental Congress also began issuing "Continental Currency" denominated in Spanish dollars. For its value relative to states' currencies, see Early American currency . Continental currency depreciated badly during

8750-426: The discontinuation of all other types of notes (Gold Certificates in 1933, Silver Certificates in 1963, and United States Notes in 1971), U.S. dollar notes have since been issued exclusively as Federal Reserve Notes . The U.S. dollar first emerged as an important international reserve currency in the 1920s, displacing the British pound sterling as it emerged from the First World War relatively unscathed and since

8875-421: The dollar came under the gold standard de jure only after 1900, the bimetallic era was ended de facto when the Coinage Act of 1873 suspended the minting of the standard silver dollar of 412.5 Troy grains = 26.73 g; 0.859 ozt, the only fully legal tender coin that individuals could convert bullion into in unlimited (or Free silver ) quantities, and right at the onset of the silver rush from

9000-653: The eastern-European military inventory today has either been manufactured to use ERA or had ERA tiles added to it, including even the T-55 and T-62 tanks built forty to fifty years ago, but still used today by reserve units. The U.S. Army uses reactive armour on its Abrams tanks as part of the TUSK (Tank Urban Survivability Kit) package and on Bradley vehicles and the Israelis use it frequently on their American built M60 tanks. ERA tiles are used as add-on (or appliqué ) armour to

9125-580: The effective plate thickness during the impact. To be effective against kinetic energy projectiles, ERA must use much thicker and heavier plates and a correspondingly thicker explosive layer. Such heavy ERA , such as the Soviet-developed Kontakt-5 , can break apart a penetrating rod that is longer than the ERA is deep, again significantly reducing penetration capability. Modern APFSDS however, can not be broken apart by ERA, as it usually has

9250-609: The end of the war, about 150 Bradleys had been destroyed. The M2A3 variant began to replace the M3A3 cavalry fighting vehicles in US Army armored reconnaissance units in 2014, as the increased ammunition loads carried by the M3A3s reduced the number of scouts that could be transported. In 2016, a reorganisation of reconnaissance unit structures and compositions saw large-scale replacements of Humvees within these units with M2A3s, increasing

9375-417: The explosive liner. Two metal plates sandwich an inert liner, such as rubber. When struck by a shaped charge's metal jet, some of the impact energy is dissipated into the inert liner layer, and the resulting high pressure causes a localized bending or bulging of the plates in the area of the impact. As the plates bulge, the point of jet impact shifts with the plate bulging, increasing the effective thickness of

9500-434: The eye-safe laser rangefinder (ELRF). The CIV allows the commander to scan for targets and maintain situational awareness while remaining under armor, and without interfering with the gunner's acquisition and engagement of targets. The A3's fire control software (FCSW) combines laser range, environmental readings, ammunition type, and turret control inputs to automatically elevate the gun for range and to automatically generate

9625-410: The fourth GCV will have room for the platoon leader, forward observers, radio-telephone operator, and medic. The M2, which was named after World War II General Omar Bradley , carries a crew of three and a six-man dismountable infantry squad . The vehicle entered service with the U.S. Army in 1981, and 4,641 M2 variants have been produced since. Even after the troubled development history of

9750-520: The friendly fire incidents, infrared identification panels and other marking/identification measures were added to the Bradleys. In the Iraq War from 2003, the Bradley proved somewhat vulnerable to improvised explosive device (IED) and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attacks, but casualties were light; the doctrine was to allow the crew to escape at the expense of the vehicle. In early 2006, total combat losses had been between 55 and 100 Bradleys; by

9875-408: The front and mostly vertical on the sides and rear. The bottom of the hull front has an additional 0.375 inch (9.5 mm) thick steel applique plate, primarily intended to protect against mines. Both sides of the vehicle have an additional 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) of high hardness steel armor consisting of two quarter-inch applique armor plates spaced 1 inch apart from each other, the first spaced 3.5 inches from

10000-507: The front of the turret for creating defensive smoke screens , or firing chaff or flares . In December 2018, the Army announced it would install an Israeli-made active protection system , the Iron Fist , on M2 Bradleys of one armored brigade to enhance protection of the aging Bradley against anti-tank rockets and missiles. However, the original configuration proved not to be sufficiently effective, delaying installation. Testing in 2022 of

10125-413: The hull sides, replacing the earlier applique armor, as well as to the front and sides of the turret. The new armor covered up the infantry firing ports on the vehicle's sides. Spaced laminate armor was added to the hull rear, and kevlar spall liners were added to critical areas. Options for ERA were also added. These armor upgrades added about 3 tons to the vehicle's weight. The use of aluminum armor and

10250-397: The latter of which referring to the deceased presidents pictured on most bills. Dollars in general have also been known as bones (e.g. "twenty bones" = $ 20). The newer designs, with portraits displayed in the main body of the obverse (rather than in cameo insets), upon paper color-coded by denomination, are sometimes referred to as bigface notes or Monopoly money . Piastre

10375-414: The latter. As of 2005, this technology had not yet been introduced on any known operational platform. Another electromagnetic alternative to ERA uses layers of plates of electromagnetic metal with silicone spacers on alternate sides. The damage to the exterior of the armour passes electricity into the plates, causing them to magnetically move together. As the process is completed at the speed of electricity

10500-463: The location flanges sticking up from the tread. These were originally of aluminum, but were changed to steel as vehicle weight increased. The steel treads sit on flat hard rubber tires. The Bradley is highly capable in cross-country open terrain, in accordance with one of the main design objectives of keeping pace with the M1 Abrams main battle tank. Whereas the M113 would float without much preparation,

10625-585: The men they are assigned, so there is usually room for those extra soldiers. Even with the extra space in the revised Bradleys, the squads were split among more than one Bradley. A split squad can be difficult to organize and control immediately after dismounting, especially when under fire and in complex terrain. The Army seeks to avoid that difficulty by requiring the GCV to carry the full 9-man squad. A four-vehicle GCV platoon will have room for 12 crew members and 36 dismounts. With three squads fully occupying three GCVs,

10750-401: The modern-day World Bank Group , establishing the infrastructure for conducting international payments and accessing the global capital markets using the U.S. dollar. The monetary policy of the United States is conducted by the Federal Reserve System , which acts as the nation's central bank . It was founded in 1913 under the Federal Reserve Act in order to furnish an elastic currency for

10875-517: The numerical amount, is used for the U.S. dollar (as well as for many other currencies). The sign was perhaps the result of a late 18th-century evolution of the scribal abbreviation p for the peso , the common name for the Spanish dollars that were in wide circulation in the New World from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The p and the s eventually came to be written over each other giving rise to $ . Another popular explanation

11000-484: The other of 230 rounds – usually HE-type rounds, with another 600 rounds in storage. The two ready boxes allow a selectable mix of rounds, including the M791 APDS-T ( Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (with) Tracer ), and M792 HEI-T ( High Explosive Incendiary (with) Tracer) rounds. The 25 mm automatic gun is primarily used for clearing bunkers and firing on lightly armored vehicles. The 25 mm automatic gun

11125-561: The other. This theory, popularized by novelist Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged , does not consider the fact that the symbol was already in use before the formation of the United States. The U.S. dollar was introduced at par with the Spanish-American silver dollar (or Spanish peso , Spanish milled dollar , eight-real coin , piece-of-eight ). The latter was produced from the rich silver mine output of Spanish America ,

11250-708: The passenger compartment, with the seventh back in the position behind the turret. An MRE ('Meal, Ready-to-Eat') heater was added to the vehicle to assist in the preparation of food. With the retirement of the Dragon missile, the vehicle had the option of carrying Javelin anti-tank missiles. Introduced in 2000, the A3 upgrades make the Bradley IFV totally digital, with upgraded or improved existing electronics systems throughout, improving target acquisition and fire control, navigation, and situational awareness. The survivability of

11375-509: The platoon and needed to be transported in the platoon's vehicles: the platoon leader, a radio-telephone operator, a medic, and two forward observers whose role is to call for support fire from artillery and aircraft. Together they filled 35 of the 36 available spaces in the platoon's four vehicles. In the later M2A2 and M2A3 versions of the Bradley, the Army rearranged the interior stowage and created space for an extra dismount in each vehicle, resulting in spaces for 7 dismounts in each vehicle and

11500-499: The portions of an armoured fighting vehicle that are most likely to be hit, typically the front ( glacis ) of the hull and the front and sides of the turret. Their use requires that a vehicle be fairly heavily armoured to protect itself and its crew from the exploding ERA. A further complication to the use of ERA is the inherent danger to anyone near the tank when a plate detonates, though a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead explosion would already cause great danger to anyone near

11625-595: The report was declassified in 1980. A West German researcher, Manfred Held, carried out similar work with the IDF in 1967–1969. Reactive armour created on the basis of the joint research was first installed on Israeli tanks during the 1982 Lebanon war and was judged very effective. An element of explosive reactive armour (ERA) is either made out of a sheet or slab of high explosive sandwiched between two metal plates, or multiple "banana shaped" rods filled with high explosive which are referred to as shaped charges. On attack by

11750-487: The rise in the price of silver during the California Gold Rush and the disappearance of circulating silver coins, the Coinage Act of 1853 reduced the standard for silver coins less than $ 1 from 412.5 grains to 384 grains (24.9 g), 90% silver per 100 cents (slightly revised to 25.0 g, 90% silver in 1873). The Act also limited the free silver right of individuals to convert bullion into only one coin,

11875-590: The same spot twice is much more difficult. The Australians were the first recorded to have conceptualized and developed methods to disrupt and spread the jet of a hollow charge shell to reduce its penetrating power. In a June 1944 report from the Explosives Manufacturing Practices Laboratory of the Explosives Factory Maribyrnong, an operational requirement for the defence against shaped charges

12000-572: The section as " legal tender " in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, in contrast to the American Silver Eagle which is pure silver . Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins, which have values ranging from one cent ( U.S. Penny ) to 100 dollars. These other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar . Article I, Section 9 of

12125-401: The shaped charge jet, reducing the angle of incidence and increasing the effective jet velocity versus the plate element. Second, since the plates are angled compared to the usual impact direction of shaped charge warheads, as the plates move outwards the impact point on the plate moves over time, requiring the jet to cut through fresh plates of material. This second effect significantly increases

12250-552: The silver dollar at the rate of 1 silver dollar to 1000 continental dollars. This resulted in the clause "No state shall... make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts" being written into the United States Constitution article 1, section 10 . From implementation of the 1792 Mint Act to the 1900 implementation of the gold standard , the dollar was on a bimetallic silver-and-gold standard, defined as either 371.25 grains (24.056 g) of fine silver or 24.75 grains of fine gold (gold-silver ratio 15). Subsequent to

12375-477: The silver dollar of 412.5 grains; smaller coins of lower standard can only be produced by the United States Mint using its own bullion. Summary and links to coins issued in the 19th century: In order to finance the War of 1812 , Congress authorized the issuance of Treasury Notes , interest-bearing short-term debt that could be used to pay public dues. While they were intended to serve as debt, they did function "to

12500-628: The storage of large quantities of ammunition in the vehicle initially raised questions about its combat survivability. Spaced laminate belts and high hardness steel skirts were added to later versions to improve armor protection, increasing overall weight to 33 tons. However, combat operations have not shown the Bradley to be deficient, with few losses. In friendly fire incidents in Desert Storm many crew members survived hits that totally destroyed lighter USMC LAV-25 vehicles. All versions are equipped with two four-barreled smoke grenade launchers on

12625-533: The tactical mobility and maneuver warfare capabilities of US Army armored reconnaissance brigades. On 5 January 2023 the Pentagon confirmed that 50 Bradleys were included as part of a $ 3 billion package of assistance to Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . France had promised to send AMX-10 RC and ACMAT Bastions . Germany also committed to sending the Marder (IFV) . The Bradleys were sent because

12750-460: The tank can absorb. Reactive armour is intended to counteract anti-tank munitions that work by piercing the armour and then either killing the crew inside, disabling vital mechanical systems, or creating spalling that disables the crew—or all three. Reactive armour can be defeated with multiple hits in the same place, as by tandem-charge weapons, which fire two or more shaped charges in rapid succession. Without tandem charges, hitting precisely

12875-476: The tank. Although ERA plates are intended only to bulge following detonation, the combined energy of the ERA explosive, coupled with the kinetic or explosive energy of the projectile, will frequently cause explosive fragmentation of the plate. The explosion of an ERA plate creates a significant amount of shrapnel, and bystanders are in grave danger of fatal injury. Thus, infantry must operate some distance from vehicles protected by ERA in combined arms operations. ERA

13000-579: The turret and gunner's sights to be slewed automatically onto a target that has been designated with the CIV. The A3 Bradley uses a position-navigation subsystem that incorporates a global positioning system (GPS), an inertial navigation unit (INU), and a vehicle motion sensor (MVS), which, in addition to allowing accurate own-vehicle navigation, allows accurate position reporting and the ability to hand-off designated targets to other units via FBCB2. The Commander's Tactical Display (CTD) presents information from

13125-414: The value of an eagle at 10 dollars, and the dollar at 1 ⁄ 10 eagle. It called for silver coins in denominations of 1, 1 ⁄ 2 , 1 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 10 , and 1 ⁄ 20 dollar, as well as gold coins in denominations of 1, 1 ⁄ 2 and 1 ⁄ 4 eagle. The value of gold or silver contained in the dollar was then converted into relative value in the economy for

13250-592: The vehicle was upgraded with a series of armor improvements, again both passive and reactive, as well as improved fire-suppression systems and NBC equipment . The A3 Bradley incorporates the Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS) and the Commander's Independent Viewer (CIV). Both include a second-generation forward looking infrared (FLIR) and an electro-optical/TV imaging system. The IBAS has direct-view optics (DVO) and

13375-457: The vehicle, and can be packaged in multiple spaced layers if needed. A key advantage of this kind of armour is that it cannot be defeated via tandem warhead shaped charges, which employ a small forward warhead to detonate ERA before the main warhead fires. Electric armour or electromagnetic armour is a proposed reactive armour technology. It is made up of two or more conductive plates separated by an air gap or by an insulating material, creating

13500-487: The velocity. ERA also counters explosively forged projectiles, as produced by a shaped charge. The counter-explosion must disrupt the incoming projectile so that its momentum is distributed in all directions rather than toward the target, greatly reducing its effectiveness. Explosive reactive armour has been valued by the Soviet Union and its now-independent component states since the 1980s, and almost every tank in

13625-423: The war, giving rise to the famous phrase "not worth a continental". A primary problem was that monetary policy was not coordinated between Congress and the states, which continued to issue bills of credit. Additionally, neither Congress nor the governments of the several states had the will or the means to retire the bills from circulation through taxation or the sale of bonds. The currency was ultimately replaced by

13750-488: The world's foremost reserve currency for international trade to this day. The Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 also defined the post-World War II monetary order and relations among modern-day independent states , by setting up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system . The agreement founded the International Monetary Fund and other institutions of

13875-452: The year 2000 the total cost of the program was US$ 5,664,100,000 for 1,602 units, giving an average unit cost of $ 3,166,000, equivalent to $ 4,122,000 in 2022. The Bradley IFV was developed largely in response to the amphibious Soviet BMP family of infantry fighting vehicles, and to serve as both an armored personnel carrier (APC), and a tank-killer . Design began in 1963, and it entered production in 1981. A specific design requirement

14000-470: Was attached to the turret rear to add more stowage space, as well as act as spaced armor. Kevlar spall liners were added to critical areas. The troop carrying number was reduced to six, eliminating the periscope position behind the driver. After live firing testing, the seating and stowage arrangements were redrawn. These upgrades raised the cumulative gross weight of the vehicle to 30,519 kg (67,282 lb (30.037 long tons; 33.641 short tons)). The M2A2

14125-574: Was cancelled in 2014 due to sequestration budget cuts. In June 2018, the Army established the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) program to replace the M2 Bradley. In October 2018, the program was redesignated as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). This program placed much of the cost burden of development on contractors, causing many competitors to drop out. In February 2020,

14250-412: Was firmly upheld, which the U.S. later had to compete with using a heavier 378.0 grains (24.49 g) Trade dollar coin . The early currency of the United States did not exhibit faces of presidents, as is the custom now; although today, by law, only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency. In fact, the newly formed government was against having portraits of leaders on

14375-431: Was improved, both passive and the ability to mount explosive reactive armor . The new armor protects the Bradley against 30 mm APDS rounds and RPGs, or similar anti-armor weapons. The new armor eliminated the trim vane that made the Bradley amphibious and covered up the side firing ports. Spaced laminate armor was installed to the hull rear. Spaced laminate track skirts protected the lower hull. A semicircular shield

14500-461: Was laid out. The focus was in regard to Japanese 75 mm hollow charge shells used against Allied tanks in the Pacific. The destructive effect of the shaped charge was identified as a jet moving at high velocities, consisting out of particles from the liner. The two methods developed were to destroy the jet by forcing it to act through a layer of explosives, disrupting the jet, and to make it act through

14625-465: Was later shortened to the German taler , a word that eventually found its way into many languages, including: tolar ( Czech , Slovak and Slovenian ); daler ( Danish and Swedish ); talar ( Polish ); dalar and daler ( Norwegian ); daler or daalder ( Dutch ); talari ( Ethiopian ); tallér ( Hungarian ); tallero ( Italian ); دولار ( Arabic ); and dollar ( English ). Though

14750-748: Was minted in Mexico City , Potosí (Bolivia), Lima (Peru), and elsewhere, and was in wide circulation throughout the Americas, Asia, and Europe from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The minting of machine-milled Spanish dollars since 1732 boosted its worldwide reputation as a trade coin and positioned it to be the model for the new currency of the United States . Even after the United States Mint commenced issuing coins in 1792, locally minted dollars and cents were less abundant in circulation than Spanish American pesos and reales ; hence Spanish, Mexican, and American dollars all remained legal tender in

14875-588: Was offset to the right to maximize the room in the passenger compartment. Six infantry soldiers for dismounted fighting were held in the passenger compartment. Vision for the troops was provided through three periscopes placed between the rear ramp and the cargo hatch just behind the turret, as well as two periscopes on each side of the hull above the side firing ports. The passenger compartment held up to five TOW or Dragon missile reloads. The side and rear hull armor consisted of two 0.25 in (6.4 mm) steel plates one inch apart and 3.5 in (89 mm) away from

15000-461: Was originally defined under a bimetallic standard of 371.25 grains (24.057 g) (0.7734375 troy ounces) fine silver or, from 1834 , 23.22 grains (1.505 g) fine gold, or $ 20.67 per troy ounce . The Gold Standard Act of 1900 linked the dollar solely to gold. From 1934, its equivalence to gold was revised to $ 35 per troy ounce . In 1971 all links to gold were repealed. The U.S. dollar became an important international reserve currency after

15125-541: Was proposed in the USSR by the Scientific Research Institute of Steel (NII Stali) in 1949 by academician Bogdan Vjacheslavovich Voitsekhovsky . The first pre-production models were produced during the 1960s. However, insufficient theoretical analysis during one of the tests resulted in all of the prototype elements being detonated. For a number of reasons, including the aforementioned accident and

15250-530: Was qualified to be transported by the C-17 Globemaster III . M2A2s were all eventually modified to the M2A2 ODS or M2A3 standard. The "Operation Desert Storm" and "Operation Desert Storm-Engineer" improvements were based on lessons learned during the first Gulf War in 1991. The major improvements included an eye-safe laser rangefinder (ELRF), a tactical navigation system (TACNAV) incorporating

15375-460: Was seen as the most practical option due to their casting properties. The mixture acted as an oxidiser which may explode when dispersed and heated. The Explosives Manufacturing Practices Laboratory seemingly developed a more middle road between chemical armor and explosive reactive armor concepts to counter the hollow charge threat. The idea of counterexplosion ( kontrvzryv in Russian) in armour

15500-576: Was that it should be as fast as the new M1 Abrams main battle tank so that they could maintain formation while moving, something which the older M113 armored personnel carrier , designed to complement the older M60 Patton , could not do. The Bradley is equipped with the M242 25 mm autocannon as its main weapon. The M242 has a single barrel with an integrated dual-feed mechanism and remote feed selection. The Bradley carries 300 ready rounds in two ready boxes, one of 70 rounds – usually AP-type rounds,

15625-662: Was the original French word for the U.S. dollar, used for example in the French text of the Louisiana Purchase . Though the U.S. dollar is called dollar in Modern French, the term piastre is still used among the speakers of Cajun French and New England French , as well as speakers in Haiti and other French-speaking Caribbean islands. Nicknames specific to denomination: The symbol $ , usually written before

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