The surprising sequence of recent world political events and changes of government attitude have focused attention on our current state of armaments, readiness, and future intention in the fields of national and NATO defence. This affords an ideal opportunity for a discussion on that vital part of our national capability, the conventional armament of our aircraft. While this is a field which may not always receive the attention applied to other, more technologically glamorous areas, it is one which is playing a progressively greater role in the current and future defence scenario. Developments along this route have changed particularly rapidly during the past few years, and seem set to do so for a decade to come.