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Basic Bullet Information

The rounds are all coated in a Tombac full metal jacket and given a slight Molybdenum disulfide coating to ease the movement of the round through the barrel and with loading. While "Teflon" (Really Molybdenum Disulfide) is said to have or give special armor piercing qualities to a bullet, it's purpose more or less decreases friction in the barrel, which consequently decreases barrel wear, and can also increase velocity or accuracy depending on the type of barrel. Because of it's Molybdenum Disulfide coating, all rounds thus appear black, except for their tips (which are left revealed to help signify the type of round). The Molybdenum Disulfide coating is crucial in the fact that is does not wear off or leave behind substantial amounts of residue when fired, and that it can resist temperatures of over 350 degrees Celsius, which similar materials, such as Teflon, cannot. Each round is roughly 9.75 grams grams and has a spitzer point, with a boat tail to help stabilize the round in flight, as they are intended for long range. The propellant is held together with a Hexagon or RDX binder, which causes the propellant to be far less sensitive then it would otherwise be (reducing the chance of a cook-off tremendously). This is based on the LSAT caseless propellant and 6.5mm CT polymer round designed for the LSAT program, which is lightweight and heat resistant.

The round is based on the 6.5mm CT, which has an incredibly high ballistic coefficient and is designed for long range. A full sized rifle cartridge, is has roughly the same power and size of a 7.62mm NATO cartridge, but is twice as aerodynamic. Utilizing a round with very similar ballistic shape to the Sierra Matchking 150 grain (9.75 gram) round, with a G1 ballistic coefficient of .713, giving it excellent aerodynamic capabilities. With a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s, the round has an incredibly long range, possessing approximately 1,000 joules at 1150 yards, and 500 joules at 1925 yards. At 700 yards, the weapon has more energy than the 5.56mm at the muzzle, with a heavier, larger round, possessing superior armor penetration. While not much more powerful than the 6.5mm Creedmoor, the longer bullet allows for significantly greater ranges and power. The recoil and power is roughly on par with the 7.62mm NATO, but is reduced by being caseless somewhat.

The primary challenge with caseless rounds has been the high potential for a cook-off or overheating, since the brass in cased rounds serves as a heat sink which is missing with caseless rounds. The issues, for the most part, have been resolved however, and can be applied in a wide variety of weapons. An RDX and plasticizer binder is utilized to decrease the sensitivities of the propellant to shock and heat. Having replicated Dynamit Nobel's ACR ammunition (also used in the G11) the HITP (High Ignition Temperature Propellant, which is hexogen/octogen-based to decrease heat sensitivity), the ammunition was modified to a 5.56 mm round, used in the LSAT caseless weapon. Tests proved the ammunition's usability, and development of the weapon was advanced using knowledge gained from the cased ammunition version. The cook-off problem was reduced, by using a denatured hexogen propellant with a special binder and coating for the ammunition that increased the spontaneous ignition temperature to 100 °C (212 degrees Fahrenheit) above that of standard, nitrocellulose propellant. This in turn has mostly eliminated the cook-off problems with the round. The primer utilized is a multi stage high strength shock specifically sensitive propellant, which is only more complex than standard primer. This in turn allows for a more controlled burn of the round and reduces the sensitivity of the primer, as well. This type of propellant, similar to the one in the ACR, LSAT, and G11, allow the weapon to significantly reduce the weight and volume of the rounds, and therefore increase the total volume of rounds that can be carried in a given weight.


Tumbling Armor Piercing Rounds - Extreme Defender
These types of rounds are the basic load by the military, designed specifically for both armor penetration and stopping power. The rounds are essentially Tombac covered Molybdenum Disulfide coated Lead-Steel rounds, with a red tip to signify it's type, with a pressure cavity tip that causes the round to cavitate and tumble in soft tissue, increasing the wounds in soft tissue. Based on the "Extreme Defender Underwood" series of projectiles, it's cross shaped tip allows it to still penetrate hard barriers without expansion and penetrate soft tissue, but allows for the creation of large wounds through corkscrew tumbling and a pressure cavity which imparts more energy to the target. The tip is made of hardened steel, while the rest of the bullet is made from lead, which increases it's strength substantially. These rounds maintain good penetration through body armor and other barriers, but still creates large wounds in soft tissue. This allows the round to have good stopping power, after-armor effects, and good armor penetration, without sacrificing any faucet. The rounds are slightly different in that they are not made from machined copper but instead cast steel which is later hardened, making it substantially cheaper and easy to mass produce.

The rounds as well do not technically violate the geneva convention as they do not fragment or expand, and thus do not cause unnecessary suffering or superfluous wounds. The rounds have the same effectiveness of hollow points at avoiding over penetration and stopping power, and the same effectiveness of hardened armor piercing rounds at armor penetration. This allows for the rounds to fullfill a more generic role, and replace the majority of specialty cartridges a soldier might be required to use. The round can penetrate .5 inches of mild RHA steel (12.5 mm), but high strength armored steel results in reduced penetration, as does ceramic or other forms of armor. In comparison, the 5.56mm can penetrate 10mm of steel, and the 7.62mm NATO can penetrate 12mm of steel, with the 6.5mm being slightly more powerful and smaller than the 7.62mm NATO.



"Black Talon" Shredder Rounds
The rounds are essentially based off the Black Talon rounds that Winchester made a while ago. The rounds were of course, extremely deadly and their reputation for being exceptionally deadly produced a wide variety of rumors, many of which were completely opposite to the truth, which lead Winchester to formally discontinue the creation and sale of the rounds. The Shredder rounds are essentially jacketed hollow-point bullets with perforations designed to expand sharp edges upon impact and silicon spitzer points designed to nearly disintegrate upon impact regardless of the hardness of the target (the spitzer point of course, to increase the aerodynamic shape of the bullet). The bullet includes a Molybdenum Disulfide coating, a proprietary oxide process, which gives it an unusual black appearance compared to copper-jacketed or lead bullets. The Molybdenum Disulfide coating was to protect the barrel rifling, and did not give the bullet armor-piercing capabilities. This coating in fact is still widely used on many of Winchester's rifle bullets today. The bullet also had a unique appearance with a star shaped perforation on the black tip, giving it the nickname Starpoint. The internal structure of the Black Talon’s hollow point is unique in that its petals are more massive at their tips, after expansion, than comparable bullets. This added mass provides superior expansion compared to most other hollow points including the “Ranger SXT”.

The Five Star petal shapes of the Black Talon Shredder rounds essentially translate into superior expansion and very controlled expansion in most soft tissue materials, allowing for a greatly increased, reliable soft targets. In particular, the rounds usual ability to penetrate basically translates into greater expansion, with the energy spent on penetration translating into greater expansion and less penetration. Even so, the extreme power of the round typically results in over-penetration in most soft targets. The rounds, as powerful as it is, and despite it's tendency to expand and potentially fragment on contact, can still pierce a standard level Mark II piece of body armor, and can even penetrate some low level Mark III armor.




High Explosive Incendiary Armor Piercing Rounds (HEIAP)
High Explosive Incendiary/Armor Piercing Ammunition (HEIAP) is a form of shell which combines both an armor piercing capability and a high explosive effect. In this respect it is a modern version of armor piercing shell. The ammunition may also be called Semi-armor piercing high explosive incendiary (SAPHEI). Typical of a modern HEIAP shell is the NM142 MP Mk 208 Mod 1 round designed for weapons such as heavy machine guns and anti-materiel rifles.

The primary purpose of these munitions is armor penetration, but unlike SLAP rounds (Saboted Light Armor Penetrator) which get their armor piercing ability from the propulsion of a 5.56mm tungsten heavy alloy bullet from a 7.62mm barrel using a sabot with much more energy than is usually possible from a 5.56mm round, HEIAP munitions use high explosives to "blast a path" for the penetrator. The special effect is developed when the round strikes the target. The initial collision ignites the incendiary material in the tip, triggering the detonation of the HE charge. The second (zirconium powder) incendiary charge will also ignite. This burns at a very high temperature, is not easily extinguished, and can last for 30 seconds.

The remaining element of the round is the tungsten carbide penetrator. This has a large amount of kinetic energy and will penetrate the armor as solid-cored armor piercing shot would. This will take some of the incendiary material through the armor. The MK 211 is claimed to penetrate up to an inch (25.4mm) of rolled homogeneous armor. The triggering of the explosive charge is dependent upon the resistance of the target. If the target offers little resistance then the lack of frictional heating will prevent the incendiary from igniting and the high explosive from detonating. Larger guns such as the British 30 mm RARDEN cannon fire APSE (Armour Piercing Special Effects) shells which are an armor piercing round with added HE effect.

This round is usually identified by a green over white paint tip mark. A rarer occurrence of a green–over red–over white paint mark scheme indicate the tracer version of this round. These tracer versions are usually only seen on cartridge feed belts in naval applications. The headstamp on the casing can also help to identify the round as Raufoss and some common headstamps include, but not limited to: HXP89, WCC94, and FN91; or HXP, WCC, LC, or FN with different two-digit numbers as production year suffixes. This round is usually identified by a green over white paint tip mark. A rarer occurrence of a green–over red–over white paint mark scheme indicate the tracer version of this round. These tracer versions are usually only seen on cartridge feed belts in naval applications. The headstamp on the casing can also help to identify the round as Raufoss and some common headstamps include, but not limited to: HXP89, WCC94, and FN91; or HXP, WCC, LC, or FN with different two-digit numbers as production year suffixes.

The round itself is essentially a 9.75 gram container. The round is not entirely velocity dependent, relying on high explosive and incendiary materials for much of it's effects. The incendiary material is used to detonate the explosive RDX, and as a result no detonater is required, which drastically simplifies the round's mechanism, but requires that the round's target possesses enough resistance to detonate the round. The ratios of materials, in weight, is 3.6 grams for the C-4, 2.5 grams for the cubic zirconium, .8 grams for the incendiary mix detonator, 1.05 grams for the lead steel, and 2 grams for the tungsten carbide penetrator.