In Afghanistan, the USMC will issue SOST ammo for both the short-barreled M4 carbine as well as the original, full-length M16A4. This is important to troops in the Middle Eastern theater who must engage insurgents inside vehicles or hiding behind barriers. Using an open-tip 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. According to the Marine Times, SOST ammunition delivers “consistent, rapid fragmentation which shortens the time required to cause incapacitation of enemy combatants”. Compared to M855 ball ammo, SOST rounds are more lethal when shot from short-barreled rifles. Even in short-barreled rifles, the SOST provides impressive ballistics - achieving 2925 fps in a 14″ barrel. The new SOST ammo was first developed for use by SOCOM (Special Operations) in the SCAR rifle, which has a short, 13.8″ barrel. The SOST bullet was designed by Federal/ATK, which will produce the loaded ammunition. The new bullet, with a lead core (in the top half) and solid copper bottom half, is similar to hunting bullets such as Federal’s Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. The new SOST (Special Operations Science and Technology) ammo, officially designated MK 318 MOD 0 “Cartridge, Caliber 5.56mm Ball, Carbine, Barrier”, features a different open-tip 62mm bullet. Marine Corps has started issuing a new type of 5.56×45 ammo to its troops in Afghanistan. February 17th, 2010 USMC Adopts New Open-tip 'SOST' 5.56 AmmoĪfter learning that M855 NATO ammo does not perform well from short-barreled rifles such as the M4 carbine, the U.S.
0 kommentar(er)
