#Ap

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves visits FK Brno at IWA to discuss their newest ammunition. While it’s not quite out yet, FK Brno has successfully developed prototype 7.5mm FK rounds that will defeat Level IV rifle-rated body armor … out of a handgun. This new AP ammo works in the full-size FK Brno Field Pistol and FK Brno PSD pistol and could be released this year.

Until now, the US Army’s 7.62mm XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing (ADVAP) round has been a mystery. The round, which was rumored to be the basis for the now-cancelled Interim Combat Service Rifle (ICSR) program, is supposed to allow existing weapons in the 7.62x51mm caliber to defeat advanced body armor out to combat ranges. Speculations about its configuration ranged from an improved traditional tungsten cored round to a discarding sabot design firing uranium flechettes, but the answer to this mystery was recently revealed in an issue of the Picatinny Voice. The ADVAP, it seems, is built on the technology of the 7.62mm M80A1 EPR, but using a tungsten core. From the Picatinny Voice article by Audra Calloway:

Being a defense show rather than a firearms industry show, there are a bunch of interesting products to see at AUSA that one might not get a peek at elsewhere. An example of this kind of product is the Modular Interlocking Ballistic Barriers from KF Armory. These barriers are made of a solid proprietary rubber-like material, can absorb impacts up to .50 cal (for the variant rated for that round), and can be assembled into walls and structures in very little time.

It’s natural for a manufacturer to want to portray their product in the best possible light. But when the capabilities of your product are technical in nature, it can be tempting to advertise in such a way that less informed consumers might get the wrong idea. AR500Armor makes some very tough steel armor at a reasonable price. Their product is quite solid, really. But their enthusiastic marketing has moved into an area that is frankly misleading. They recently posted a video to their Facebook page that features their level III+ plate being hit by 5.56mm “API”. So far as I am aware, there has never been any “real” armor piercing incendiary 5.56mm issued by any military. When I asked them what the nomenclature of the ammunition was, they deleted my post and blocked me from further comment. When several other users pressed them, they eventually admitted that it was actually a  commercial offering. You might fairly inquire “So what?”. Why would it matter? Because the velocity recorded in their test was only 2,700 fps and the manufacturer of the ammo says that the penetrator is just “an M855 style penetrator”. M855 is easily stopped by all level III steel armor at substantially higher velocity than that seen in this test so the ammunition cannot be considered to be armor piercing either by military designation or by any stretch of the imagination. It is quite literally just a label applied by the ammo maker.  AR500Armor’s III+ plate actually is a very tough plate and has been shown in independent testing to stop actual armor piercing bullets from a 7.62x51mm rifle. Real AP ammo in 5.56mm would have no trouble defeating this plate, though. M995 would slice through like butter. M995 is rare as unicorn farts so it is unlikely that we will see any testing of it, but even the Army’s standard 5.56mm ball cut through their III+ plate so it’s likely that true 5.56mm AP would get through.  To be clear, AR500Armor hasn’t technically lied and they really do make a solid product, but this video seems to be intended to imply to viewers that their level III+ plate is able to stop all 5.56mm ammunition or even that it is able to stop armor piercing 5.56mm. That is most definitely not the case, which is unfortunate, because their III+ plate is otherwise a great plate.

In an era of increasingly resilient body armor, new small arms ammunition solutions are required to even the odds between the shooter and shootee. The company Stiletto Systems, based out of the UK, is advertising its new bullet as a possible solution for this problem. The round, a relatively conventional 7.62mm tungsten cored armor piercing projectile superficially similar to Nammo’s M993 round, is advertised as having considerable penetrative power: 20.5 mm of rolled homogeneous armor at 100 meters, 100% of the time.

Aside from huge rifles like .50 BMG and the like, that is. NIJ 0101.06 Level IV specifies that the plate must be able to stop .30-06 M2AP at 2,880 fps. I’m case you’re not familiar with M2AP, it is a copper jacketed projectile with a hardened steel core. It was issued during WWII originally as special purpose ammunition, as is typically the case with armor piercing ammo, but eventually replaced M1 .30 caliber FMJ due to its superior performance. Joes loved it because it could get through almost anything and it was quite terminally effective. It’s so good at getting through barriers that armor designed to stop M2AP has been able to stop almost anything else thrown at it. YouTube armor testers such as Buffman R.A.N.G.E. and The Wound Channel have determined that .300 Winmag is no match for level IV and only one really hot .338 RUM load was able to get through an Armour Wear Level IV.

The US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) is developing a new kind of .50 caliber ammunition called the All Purpose Tactical Cartridge, according to a presentation given at this years National Defense Industry Association small arms conference. The new round will be a sabot design, similar to the existing .50 cal M903 SLAP round, but apparently with a more streamlined shape and better accuracy.

In the wake of Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley’s testimony to Congress on the present and future state of the US Army, there has been a significant amount of speculation and in some cases misleading reporting regarding his statements on small arms and ammunition. Authors such as Todd South with Army Times and Eric Graves of Soldier Systems have presented their take on General Milley’s comments, but in doing so have presented an interpretation of his testimony that I do not think reflects what he said or meant. Therefore, briefly, I’d like to go over some of these interpretations and explain why I think they are not accurate and what General Milley meant, instead. After each bullet I will list the interpretation that I think is incorrect, followed by General Milley’s statement regarding it, and then my own explanation.

One potential solution to the problem of a suitable anti-armor pistol and submachine gun round is to take the existing ammunition system and introduce one or more new kinds of ammunition which provide additional armor piercing capability through higher muzzle velocity and tougher core material. This is the route taken in Russia, where in the mid-1990s was introduced several loads for the Western 9x19mm caliber, as well as a new but fairly conventional round, the 9x21mm, also with optional AP load.

The subject of armor penetration previously was largely confined to the realm of big bore rifles or cannons intended to tackle tanks and other kinds of armored vehicles, but as the popularity of steel and composite body armor increases, it has become more and more relevant to the subject of small arms. It may be tempting to pull contextless data from different sources, and present them as being comparable, but in most cases this is a mistake. Unfortunately, quoting armor penetration numbers from two different countries or organizations is not a good way to compare the capabilities of rounds against one another, as I will explain.

I’m not sure how many more trigger manufacturers the market can bear, but latest to join the fray is AP Customs with their “Rhino Straight Series” of triggers, definitively oriented to the competition market. The triggers maintain the NiB coating of the Rhino Series and the addition of bushings to reduce rotational resistance. For those looking to laugh at marketing phrasing, they do include “ridiculously durable” chrome silicone springs.

The GSh-18 Pistol can fire a very hot (similar to 9mm +P+) 9mm Luger round loaded with an AP bullet called the 9mm PBP. It has the capability to punch holes through 8mm of steel or a Class III bulletproof vest at 20 meters. This video (from RIAN) shows off its capabilities:

Human Events has an interesting article about the use of Chinese armor-piercing bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan by insurgents.