Muzzle brakes and recoil compensators are devices that are fitted to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon to redirect propellant gases with the effect of countering both recoil of the gun and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire. Muzzle brakes are very useful for combat and timed competition shooting, and are commonly found on rifles firing very large cartridges (often big-game rifles), as well as some artillery and tank guns. They are also commonly used on pistols for practical pistol competitions, and are usually called compensators in this context.

Asymmetric warfare originally referred to war between two or more actors or groups whose relative military power differs significantly. Contemporary military thinkers tend to broaden this to include asymmetry of strategy or tactics; today "asymmetric warfare" can describe a conflict in which the resources of two belligerents differ in essence and in the struggle, interact and attempt to exploit each other's characteristic weaknesses. Such struggles often involve strategies and tactics of unconventional warfare, the "weaker" combatants attempting to use strategy to offset deficiencies in quantity or quality.

An anti-tank mine, (abbreviated to "AT mine"), is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuse designed only to be triggered by vehicles or, in some cases, tampering with the mine.

Tank desant is a military combined arms tactic, where infantry soldiers ride into an attack on tanks, then dismount to fight on foot in the final phase of the assault. Desant is the Russian word for airborne or parachute drops, but it can be used more generally, describing amphibious landings or "tank desant".

Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, is fire from allied or friendly forces, as opposed to fire coming from enemy forces or enemy fire.

A pipe bomb is a simple type of improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially lethal shrapnel. Premature detonation is a hazard of attempting to construct any homemade bomb, and the materials and methods used with pipe bombs make unintentional detonation incidents common, usually resulting in serious injury or death to the assembler. In many countries the manufacture or possession of a pipe bomb is a serious crime, regardless of its intended use.

A bomb is an explosive device that generates and releases its energy very rapidly.

Anti-tank gun is a gun designed to destroy armored vehicles. In order to penetrate the armor of tanks and other armored vehicles, it fires high-velocity shells.

The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun") was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries.

A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, and penetrate armour.

The Faustpatrone (literally 'fist cartridge') was a German anti-tank weapon of early World War II and a forerunner of the later Panzerfaust.

A grenade launcher is a weapon that launches a grenade greater distances, more accurately, and faster than a soldier could throw by hand.

A bombard is a type of medieval cannon or mortar, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls. The modern term bombardment derives from this.

A mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.

The hoplite was a heavy infantryman that was the central focus of warfare in Ancient Greece.