Corps to use more lethal ammo in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Lt. Matthew Orr, a trainer with the Afghan National Army, runs across an exposed footbridge while on patrol in Kolack, a village in Kunar province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 26. The Corps is now fielding a more accurate and deadlier bullet in Afghanistan.


Corps to use more lethal ammo in Afghanistan
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 15, 2010 21:50:05 EST

The Marine Corps is dropping its conventional 5.56mm ammunition in Afghanistan in favor of new deadlier, more accurate rifle rounds, and could field them at any time.

The open-tipped rounds until now have been available only to Special Operations Command troops. The first 200,000 5.56mm Special Operations Science and Technology rounds are already downrange with Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command. Commonly known as “SOST” rounds, they were legally cleared for Marine use by the Pentagon in late January, according to Navy Department documents obtained by Marine Corps Times.

SOCom developed the new rounds for use with the Special Operations Force Combat Assault Rifle, or SCAR, which needed a more accurate bullet because its short barrel, at 13.8 inches, is less than an inch shorter than the M4 carbine’s. Using an open-tip match round design common with some sniper ammunition, SOST rounds are designed to be “barrier blind,” meaning they stay on target better than existing M855 rounds after penetrating windshields, car doors and other objects.

Compared to the M855, SOST rounds also stay on target longer in open air and have increased stopping power through “consistent, rapid fragmentation which shortens the time required to cause incapacitation of enemy combatants,” according to Navy Department documents. At 62 grains, they weigh about the same as most NATO rounds, have a typical lead core with a solid copper shank and are considered a variation of Federal Cartridge Co.’s Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw round, which was developed for big-game hunting and is touted in a company news release for its ability to crush bone.

The Corps purchased a “couple million” SOST rounds as part of a joint $6 million, 10.4-million-round buy in September — enough to last the service several months in Afghanistan, Brogan said. Navy Department documents say the Pentagon will launch a competition worth up to $400 million this spring for more SOST ammunition.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/02/marine_SOST_ammo_021510w/

[Rhiannon12866]

1. More good news on the war front... *sigh*

;(

[Don Caballero]

2. Good to see that President Obama actually cares about the safety of the troops

The Shrub sent our boys out with the bare necessities.

[davepc]

3. Pretty sensationalist headline from the Navy Times.

The M855 has bore a lot of criticism over the years, if they've developed something more effective then so be it.