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Periscope's Intranet Help Contents:
Reliable – Top U.S. Military, Intelligence agencies, major defense contractors, and news media depend on Periscope for unclassified coverage on the world’s weapons systems and orders of battle. Periscope is used to verify what is the most current, publicly available information.
Major media including The New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, ABC News and CNN to name a few, rely on Periscope when they need in-depth coverage on weapons systems and nations orders of battle.
Additionally, every day defense companies and armed forces around the globe use Periscope’s Daily Defense News Capsules to track military/defense related news and developments that our editors select from hundreds of news sources every morning.
Accurate – Periscope’s success is due to an emphasis on accuracy. Although our editors uncover oddball facts and rumors in their research, only information that can be confirmed by at least two sources will satisfy Periscope's stringent editorial policy.
Periscope’s ability to be a reliable and accurate source of unclassified military/defense coverage.
For example, during the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict Periscope’s Iraqi Order of Battle record showed no Italian made Lupo frigates while a well-known printed annual military yearbook indicated the Iraqi Navy had three in service. In an effort to obtain the most accurate information, Periscope's editors confirmed with the Italian government that the Lupo frigates were ordered by Iraq but not shipped due to an embargo related to the 1990 Persian Gulf conflict.
Timely – Our editors update Periscope daily to ensure timely coverage of military/defense developments around the world. When conflicts erupt around the world Periscope is able to quickly reflect the major impact to the countries involved and their respective armed forces and weapons arsenal.
For example, as the United States built up military forces in early 1998 in preparation to strike at Iraqi military targets, Periscope's editors provided up-to-the-minute special reports on the order of battle and overall military situation in the Gulf region.
Comprehensive – Saving valuable time in researching unclassified military/defense sources is a key benefit of using Periscope. Coverage of 450+ nation’s armed forces orders of battle and 5,000 weapons systems puts volumes of information at your fingertips. Rather than purchasing expensive military reference books, or loading military encyclopedia CDs, or searching various Internet sites, Periscope provides one accurate, timely source to easily reference.
The format for every nation and weapon record allows users to access a complete picture without illustration of the forces and capabilities. The databases and records are formatted for easy access to specific information to save time in having to check or read through a lot of data.
For example, from the Nations record of the Taiwanese Navy, equipped with French-built LAFAYETTE-class stealth frigates, you can easily link to the weapon record for that ship. No other source offers as complete a picture with the click of a button.
Established – Periscope began offering detailed military/defense information in the early 1980’s during the Cold War to fill the need for an easy-to-use, electronically accessible database on the world's armed forces and weapons systems. With the backing of the United States Naval Institute (USNI), the Military Database launched in 1986 and a few years later UCG took over the management to expand the editorial coverage.
To expand the potential market the product name was changed to Periscope. Today, Periscope continues to expand its coverage with additional related information and more timely updates. A daily news feed tailored after the Pentagon’s Early Bird was added, as was expanded coverage of the weapons and nations records.
All USNI Military Database records include the date of the most recent revision. Weapon systems in production are updated most frequently. Before editors release records, all information in the USNI Military Database must be confirmed by two official sources. The Database’s editorial staff encourages users to contact them whenever questions arise.
PERISCOPE is the original source for the information found in the USNI Military Database. Our editors compile data from hundreds of unclassified sources:
Organized by easy-to-use menus and fully keyword searchable with a search engine, the USNI Military Database provides one-stop access for:
Nations Armed Forces
-- Coverage of every major country with listings for more than 480 military forces,
structures and organizations.
Weapons/Systems/Platforms
-- 5,000 systems in use worldwide with descriptions, characteristics and much, much, more.
Military Terms
-- Acronyms and abbreviations used by the military.
Our editors compile and analyze data daily from hundreds of sources, and confirm all information in the USNI Military Database with at least two independent sources to ensure accuracy.
You'll find a record on each armed force -- air, ground, naval, special warfare, and strategic -- for every country with a military force over 250,000 troops. Smaller military establishments will have an overview record, detailing each of the armed forces in a single record.
Every nation also provides their corresponding CIA World Factbook coverage to include political and demographic information and their respective State Department Travel Advisory.
The Nations Database breaks the world into geographic regions:
Each Nation record is organized by subheads to help you quickly pinpoint the information you need. View the entire record, or choose from:
You can tap into complete technical descriptions and status for 5,000 military systems in production -- or still in use -- throughout the world.
Periscope's coverage includes:
Each weapon record includes:
is still in production and still in use and manufacturer.
modifications, and overseas production.
NOTE: you can only access the PERISCOPE services to which you subscribe.
When you first attempt to enter a PERISCOPE service you will see a prompt for your id and password. If you are not authorized for that service you will see a page that says Access Denied, and will receive instructions on how to upgrade your service.
A. using a search engine
With a powerful search engine, you can search the entire USNI Military Database, or you can narrow your search further by choosing to search either the Nations or Weapons Database. (Most search engines conduct a full text search for search terms.) Click the Search box at the top of the screen, and a pull down option menu will appear. Click the section of the Database you wish to search.
NOTE: The search engine does not recognize "/". When you search for keywords such as F/A-18, or AN/APS-145 the search engine will tell you 0 records found. To get your desired result, you need to search by F-18 or APS-145.
If you want to find the record for the F/A-18 Hornet you can use the "Search In" drop down box to choose the USNI Military Database, and then type your search term "F-18". You can choose to view the F/A-18 Hornet record by clicking the side box, or the blue underlined text.
You have two options once the record is retrieved:
1) Continue searching the USNI Military Database by putting a new search term in the "Search In" box, or
2) Return to the PERISCOPE/USNI Military Database home page by selecting an option from the navigational bar. Let’s say you continue your search from the F/A-18 record. You now want to search for all the equipment in the USNI Military Database where the Country of Origin is Taiwan. To narrow your search you can choose to search the Weapons Database and input the following query: "Taiwan and country of origin".
NOTE: Keep in mind the search engine conducts a full text search, and therefore will pull any record where it finds your search term. This means that along with weapon systems originated in Taiwan the search engine is also likely to present you with platforms and systems that Taiwan has in its arsenal. The screen below is an example:
The APS-145 and APG-67 are of US origin (the country of origin is alongside the system name), and the Kung Feng VI and the Kung Feng are of Taiwanese origin.
You can also conduct a search to learn the equipment each of Taiwan’s services has in its arsenal by inputting the following query "Taiwan and equipment":
NOTE: Your goal here is to pull the Taiwan country records. The Nations Database contains a detailed listing of all the equipment in a country’s arsenal.
Remember: the search engine conducts a full-text search causing it to pull any record with the key words Taiwan and equipment.)
The records that identify – Nations/Alliances/Geographic Regions - USNI Military Database include the equipment listing for the service branch (Navy, Army, Air Force).
When you click on the record for one of the Taiwan’s forces you will see a menu with links to Armed Forces Structure, Equipment, Deployment, Plans and Programs.
If you click on Equipment you will jump down to the section of the record that lists the weapons equipment for the service branch (Navy, Army, Air Force, etc...)
B. menu driven searching (usni military database only)
With PERISCOPE’s USNI Military Database, you can zero in on just the information you need, or expand your search for a broad analysis of a topic. For example:
"Platforms" section in the record. From here, you can "click" to other weapons entries which give more information on the capabilities of these systems and platforms.
Or, to expand your search to include details on the armed forces that use the AGM-84E simply "click" on any nation listed in "Users". It will take you to the"overview" record for that country. Choose the "Equipment" record for each service branch to determine the number of AGM-84E’s in service. You can also "click" the "Plans and Programs" section to get a forecast of anticipated equipment upgrades and future acquisitions for each service.
The PERISCOPE Daily Defense News Capsules are available every business day. You have the option to read individual stories, read the entire issue, or search the Daily Daily Defense News Capsules archive.
To start your search, click Daily Defense News Capsules on the PERISCOPE Home Page:
Click "Read Today’s News!" to pull all of the day’s news stories. Your screen will display the full text of the articles (25 to 40 every day). To print the news, simply hit the print option in your browser.
Click "Glance at today's headlines" to read one or more individual stories instead of the whole issue.
To find any article about a specific development you will want to search the News Archive. For example, if you want news items about Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs) you should conduct a search for all articles in the PERISCOPE archives on UAVs. You can search from the page you are on. Simply put your search term in the "For:" box on the search menu and click the search button.
NOTE: Most search engines conduct a full-text search for your term(s) on all the items in the Daily Defense News archive. You can determine the date the story originally ran by looking at the URL for each item. At the end of each address there is a series of numbers followed by .shtml. These numbers tell you the date. As an example, on the URL
news.7241996.shtml -- "7241996" tells you that the story ran July 24, 1996.
You can also search for a specific issue. At the bottom of the Daily Defense News home page you will see that you can select a specific year.
If you missed the March 24, 1998 issue, all you need to do is select 1998. Then click on March 24, 1998 and you get the entire issue for that day.
PERISCOPE’s Blue Tops service lets you search for DOD contract awards of $5 million or more, including foreign military sales. You will find details on awards made by the Air Force, Army, Navy, DLA, and DOD to specific companies. The Blue Tops are archived.
NOTE: The DOD releases the Blue Tops after the New York Stock Exchange closes everyday. This means today’s Blue Tops are from the preceding day. The DOD does NOT issue Blue Tops on a daily basis.
To access the Blue Tops click on the Blue Tops/Foreign Military Sales Awards. Your screen will look like the one below.
You can view the Blue Tops for a specific day, or do a keyword search. For example if you want to find the Blue Tops for a specific date, say March 30, 1998, you can click on "Bluetops from March ". Then click on the date you want to view.
You can also track awards made to a specific company. For example, enter TRW in the search box if you want to find all their announced awards.This search will display all the Blue Top issues in the archive that mention TRW.
You can search each issue for your keyword, TRW. Choose Bluetops for November 25, 1997, for example (the November 24 issue) and conduct a keyword search using the Find key on your browser. The Find function will page down to the relevant award notices.
To access The Pentagon News Releases simply click on the Pentagon News Releases hyperlink. This database is updated daily.
To search The Pentagon News Releases you need to scroll through the listings displayed and click on the date of the release you want to view in full text.
To access PERISCOPE Special Reports, click the title of the report you wish to review.