Orbital ATK receives orders from U.S. and allies for 25 and 30 mm ammunition

Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced Tuesday August 4 that the company recently received domestic and international contracts for tactical and target practice medium- caliber ammunition valued at nearly $30 million. The ammunition will support American and allied warfighters for use on air-, sea- and land-based weapons platform.

These orders included a range of 25 and 30 mm tactical and target practice ammunition for multiple U.S. services and allies. The contracts are awarded through the U.S. Army Maneuver Ammunition Systems in its role as the Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition.

“Producing highly-reliable ammunition for those defending their nation’s security is at the heart of our business,” said Dan Olson, Vice President and General Manager of the Armament Systems division of the Defense Systems Group. “Whether we are working directly with the customer or as part of an industry team, our goal is to be the partner you can count on to provide a safe, reliable product on time and within budget.”

Domestic contracts included orders for the 25 mm PGU-25 High Explosive Incendiary round used with AC130 gunships, Harrier attack aircraft, and naval and ground combat weapons systems that use the Orbital ATK M242 Bushmaster® automatic cannon. Additional 25 mm orders included the M793 Target Practice with Tracer cartridge and the 30 mm PGU-15 cartridge.

International orders included the 25 mm M791 Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot with Tracer and the M792 High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer and Self-Destruct, which is produced exclusively by Orbital ATK. These two tactical cartridges are compatible with a range of cannons, including the M242 Bushmaster, and provide air, land and sea weapons with the capabilities to defeat a variety of targets ranging from light material to armor-protected.

Orbital ATK Defense Systems Group is an industry leader in providing innovative and affordable ammunition, precision and strike weapons, electronic warfare systems, and missile components across air-, sea-, and land-based systems.

First Seen at Tank Nut Stan

Belgian caliber cartridge 5,7 × 28 mm – pistol cartridge

In ammunition, today we will focus on the Belgian caliber cartridge 5,7 × 28 mm – pistol cartridge, created in 1986 to replace an already widespread cartridge 9 × 19 mm Parabellum NATO standard, although it bears little resemblance to the cartridge pistol. It is a compact cartridge with a pointed bullet and sleeve bottle-shaped, which, according to developers, has been obtained by replacing bullets and cartridge cases shortening 5.56 NATO. This round took place between intermediaries submachine pistol and ammunition. Compared with the chuck 9 × 19 mm, it provides a greater flatness of fire, smaller returns, greater effective range (the maximum range of a bullet – 1510 m and the maximum uboynaya- 825 meters, but because of the light bullets killing power of the cartridge falls rapidly at a distance of 600 m), armor piercing (with an initial velocity of 650 to 720 depending on the length of the barrel at a distance of 50 meters the bullet pierces the standard chuck 48 layers of Kevlar, and at a distance of 150-200 meters steel helmet or body armor standard set by NATO requirements CRISAT), as well as different degrees of reduced ricocheting. The main characteristic of the cartridge is enormous penetrating ability, which is an advantage compared with other pistol cartridge. Properties ballistics are that when released into the soft tissue, the bullet makes a turn of 360 degrees, and then continues its movement, stopping after 10 – 15 cm . This feature eliminates the departure bullet right through the human body, reducing the number of random victims to zero. In addition, the bullet causing fatal injuries of internal organs, internal and external bleeding and remains in the body. Typically, a single bullet to the torso / head enough to stop the enemy. Cases of death from shock. Sam cartridge designed specifically for the Belgian submachine gun FN P90, but it is also used in the PS90, AR-57, PP Singapore ST Kinetics CPW, VBR-Belgium CQBW gun FN Five-seveN. There are several types of the cartridge : standard (SS190), armor piercing steel core, tracer (SS196SR), subsonic (SB193: his bullet weighing 3.6 g is weakest killer stopped and the breakdown of the family from their patrons, as because of its low speed 305 m / s, the bullet does not change its direction in the tissue and can not be strong enough to break through the obstacles), single, expansive (SB195LF and SS197SR (?): has less penetrating ability than SS190, but the stopping power and great destructive power), increased speed with a hollow bullet poluobolochennye. Its characteristics caliber cartridge 5,7 × 28 mm superior to its main rival 4,6 × 30 mm, but the German and other delegations rejected the recommendation on the NATO standardizing cartridge 5,7 × 28 mm, resulting in that the standardization process of the cartridge in the NATO countries has been postponed.

From left to right SS190, SS196SR and SS197SR

Exterior cartridge SS190

SS196SR length of 40.5 mm

The expansive cartridge SS197SR sectional

A special 50-round magazine FN P90