Materiel or matériel (/məˌtɪəriˈɛl/; from French matériel 'equipment, hardware') is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
Materiel or matériel (/məˌtɪəriˈɛl/; from French matériel 'equipment, hardware') is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, either from warships that can embark aircraft (e.g. aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships and aircraft cruisers) or from coastal naval air stations.It often involves navalised aircraft, specifically designed for naval use.Seaborne aviation encompasses similar activities not restricted to navies, including marines and coast guards, such as in U.S. naval aviators. As with most army aviation units, naval aviation units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated air force.
Naval aviation operations are typically projected by way of carrier-based aircraft, which must be sturdy enough to withstand the demands of shipborne operations at sea. They must be able to take off from a short runway (typically the flight deck of an aircraft carrier) and be sturdy and flexible enough to come to a sudden stop when landing; they typically have robust folding or swinging wings that reduce the occupied space and thus allow more of them to be stored in below-decks hangars and limited parking spaces on flight decks. These aircraft are designed for many tactical purposes, including aerial combat, airstrike/close air support, anti-submarine warfare, early warning, search and rescue, matériel transport, weather observation, patrol and reconnaissance, and wide-area command and control duties.
In a military context, the term front can have several meanings. According to official US Department of Defense and NATO definitions, a front can be "the line of contact of two opposing forces." This front line can be a local or tactical front, or it can range to a theater. An example of the latter was the Western Front in France and Belgium in World War I.
Relatedly, front can refer to the direction of the enemy or, in the absence of combat, the direction towards which a military unit is facing. Conversely, the term "home front" has been used to denote conditions in the civilian sector of a country at war, including those involved in the production of matériel.
French involvement in the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783 began in 1776 when the Kingdom of France secretly shipped supplies to the Continental Army of the Thirteen Colonies upon its establishment in June 1775. France was a long-term historical rival with the Kingdom of Great Britain, from which the Thirteen Colonies were attempting to separate. Having lost its own North American colony to Britain in the Seven Years' War, France sought to weaken Britain by helping the American insurgents.
A Treaty of Alliance between the French and the Continental Army followed in 1778, which led to French money, matériel and troops being sent to the United States. An ignition of a global war with Britain started shortly thereafter. Subsequently, Spain and the Dutch Republic also began to send assistance, which, along with other political developments in Europe, left the British with no allies during the conflict (excluding the Hessian mercenaries). Spain openly declared war in 1779, Spain joined its ally France in the war (but did not make a formal treaty with the Americans), and war between the British and Dutch followed soon after.