Use this glossary guide to learn military terms in Broken Arrow that will help you understand the differences of missiles, strikes and many other concepts.
Modern Military Systems
If you’re not a military buff or haven’t spent hours immersed in tactical war games, the world of Broken Arrow can feel overwhelming. Acronyms fly, missiles streak across maps, and you’re left wondering: What’s an APS? Why does “top-attack” matter?
This guide is not a walkthrough or strategy manual it’s a foundational glossary for newcomers to military simulations. Here, we decode the jargon, demystify military systems, and provide simple, actionable explanations of the mechanics and equipment you’ll encounter in Broken Arrow.
Modern Combat Principles
Gone are the days of trench warfare and close-quarter battles. In modern warfare, visibility and range dictate survival. Broken Arrow captures this reality through its emphasis on detection, positioning, and engagement distances.
- High-ground advantage matters: A missile team on a rooftop can strike tanks below—and be vulnerable to return fire or artillery.
- Line of sight (LoS) is critical: If you can see the enemy, you can engage. If not, you’re blind—and possibly a target.
- Range rules combat: A tank can destroy a light vehicle from over a mile away if it has a clear shot.
In this dynamic, high-tech environment, understanding your unit’s capabilities is more important than memorizing names.
Infantry and Transport Types
There are five main types of infantry transports in Broken Arrow:
Air-Based Transports
- Airdrop Planes: Deploy infantry and some vehicles via parachute. Effective but risky—if the plane is destroyed mid-air, the payload is lost.
- Transport Helicopters: Offer mobility and quick deployment, but can be vulnerable to enemy fire if not escorted properly.
Ground-Based Transports
- Light Transports: Includes trucks and Humvees. Fast, but lightly armored.
- APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers): Moderate protection and weapons; balances transport and survivability.
- IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles): Heavily armored and armed, but carry fewer troops.
Essential Military Glossary for Broken Arrow
Here’s a concise, easy-to-navigate glossary of commonly used terms in the game. Use it as your quick reference while playing.
- ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile): Defensive system that intercepts incoming ballistic missiles. Effective but can be overwhelmed by massed enemy attacks.
- Airdrop / Paradrop: Airborne delivery of units. Vulnerable during descent and unable to fight until landing.
- Amphibious Units: Troops or vehicles capable of crossing water, albeit slowly and with greater exposure.
- AP (Anti-Personnel): Weapons designed to eliminate infantry targets.
- APC (Armored Personnel Carrier): Lightly armored transport for troops; more durable than trucks but less capable than IFVs.
- APS (Active Protection System): Defensive tech on armored vehicles that intercepts incoming rockets or missiles. Ineffective against bullets or large-caliber projectiles.
- Artillery: Long-range weapons that lob explosive shells in an arc. Can hit targets without direct sight.
- AT (Anti-Tank): Weapons built to destroy armored vehicles.
- ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile): Guided missile system capable of targeting and destroying enemy armor from a distance.
- Ballistic Missile: Launches skyward before descending on the target. Can be intercepted by ABM systems.
- CIWS / C-RAM: U.S. close-in weapon system. Defends against missiles, bombs, and some aircraft.
- ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor): Extra armor that detonates outward to reduce damage from explosive projectiles. Useless against kinetic hits.
- Guided Weapons: Steer toward targets using various guidance systems. Require constant tracking to remain on course.
- HE (High Explosive): Explosives that cause consistent damage regardless of range. Highly effective against infantry and structures.
- IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle): Heavily armed troop carrier. Stronger than APCs, but with limited transport capacity.
- Kinetic Weapons: Rely on impact force rather than explosion. Damage scales with distance and velocity. Best used up close.
- Laser-Guided: Requires a unit to “paint” a target with a laser designator. Precise but vulnerable to line-of-sight loss.
- LoS (Line of Sight): Determines what a unit can see and target. Essential for most weapon types.
- Mortar: Portable artillery that fires at a short range. Quick to deploy and ideal for infantry suppression.
- Nuclear Weapon: Massive area damage. Rare, costly, and dangerous to friendlies if used carelessly.
- Rocket: Typically unguided explosive weapon. Some variants are guided but generally less accurate than missiles.
- SHORAD (Short Range Air Defense): Anti-air systems designed for low-altitude threats like helicopters and drones. Weaker against high-flying aircraft.
- Smoke / “Popping Smoke”: Creates a visual barrier. Blocks enemy sight and some guided weapons but not foolproof.
- Special Forces (SF/SoF): Elite infantry with superior stats and cost. Limited in number but powerful.
- Tracked Vehicle: Uses tracks instead of wheels. Slower but more resilient and capable off-road.
- Top-Attack Missile: Strikes the thinner top armor of tanks. Extremely lethal if not countered by APS or ERA.
- Warhead: The explosive payload of a missile or rocket. Variants include conventional, nuclear, and incendiary types.
Tips for Beginners
- Use the in-game armory to study units and their capabilities.
- Experiment with different unit combinations to see what works in different scenarios.
- Pay attention to LoS and positioning—these often matter more than raw firepower.
