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Article: Assault rifles in a 5.56 mm evolution: the fielding of new designs and the upgrade of existing weapons will ensure that 5.56 mm remains the predominant assault rifle calibre.(Infantry: weapons)
- Article from:
- Armada International
- Article date:
- April 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Armada International. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The perceived shortcomings of the 5.56 x 45 mm Nato SS109/US M855 round in the US armed forces-led campaign in Afghanistan has provoked the fiercest debate about the optimum calibre for assault rifles since the US Army decided that the 5.56 mm M193 cartridge would supersede the Nato 7.62 mm cartridge as the standard calibre for its assault rifles 40 years ago. The pressing demands of the Global War on Terror, which is being fought largely in urban areas in Iraq, mean that new and upgraded 5.56 mm assault rifles will equip the American military forces and their Nato and non-Nato allies for at least another generation. However, these will be augmented by a more generous ...