Armor, depleted uranium

Under federal law, silencers are treated in the same category as automatic weapons. Armor-piercing ammunition (popularly called cop-killer bullets) were banned in 1986, with an expanded definition of banned bullets in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that includes bullets made of tungsten, beryllium, depleted uranium, and other exotic materials. Other accessories can also cause a weapon to be banned (see Assault Weapons above). 

Depleted uranium (DU) is used to reinforce armor shielding and increase penetrability of military munitions. Although the data are conflicting, DU has been invoked as a potential etiological factor in Gulf War syndrome.70 To control possible contamination of soldiers from the Gulf War... 

The core of the bullet can be made from a variety of materials lead is by far the most common because of its high density and the fact that it is cheap, readily obtained, and easy to fabricate. But copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, steel (sometimes hardened by heat treatment), depleted uranium, zinc, iron, tungsten, rubber, and various plastics may also be encountered. (When most of the fissile radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed from natural uranium, the residue is called depleted uranium. Depleted uranium is 67% denser than lead, and it is an ideal bullet material and is very effective in an armor-piercing role, both in small arms and larger munitions components. Because of its residual radioactivity its use is controversial.) Bullets with a lead core and a copper alloy jacket are by far the most common. 

Armor-piercing (AP) ammunition has a projectile or projectile core constructed entirely from a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium. The most effective AP bullets are usually confined to rifle bullets, as velocity and range are important factors in AP requirements. Some revolver and pistol ammunition is described as metal piercing but, although it would be effective against vehicle bodywork and some body armor, it would be ineffective against heavy armor plate. AP bullets are, with very few exceptions, jacketed. 

J. W. Hopson, L. W. Hantel, and D. J. Sandstrom, Evaluation of Depleted- Uranium Alloysfor Use in Armor-Piercing Projectiles (U), LA-5238, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, N.M., 1973. 

Another military use of the actinide metals is in tank armor and armor piercing projectiles. Depleted uranium metal is an extremely dense material, for example, density of a-phase U is 19 g cm, and is only mildly radioactive, half-life of is 4.5 X 10 years. When this metal is incorporated into a projectile, the density and metallic properties allow it to penetrate deeply into heavily armored vehicles. 

Depleted uranium is an excellent metallic substrate for radiation shielding and for armor and ammunition by the military due to its density and pyrophoric properties. Furthermore, the unique ability of uranium-based ammunitions to sharpen themselves upon impact, allowing for deeper penetration of the ammunitions, also makes DU a better substrate for weapons of mass destruction. As such, it is not suprising that the use of DU in military applications is expected to grow. This increased use will no doubt be bolstered by recent scientific studies showing that DU exposure has relatively low adverse health effects, contrary... 

Miller, A.C., Xu, J., Stewart, M., Prasanna, P.G., Page, N. (2002c). Potential late health effects of depleted uranium and tungsten used in armor-piercing munitions comparison of neoplastic transformation and genotoxicity with the known carcinogen nickel. Mil. Med. 167 120-2. 

A very dangerous fire hazard in the form of a solid or dust when exposed to heat or flame. It can react violently with air, CI2, F2, HNO3, NO, Se, S, water, NH3, BrFs, trichloroethylene, nitryl fluoride. During storage it may form a pyrophoric surface due to effects of air and moisture. Depleted uranium (the by-product of the uranium enrichment process, with relatively low radioactivity) is used in armor-piercing shells, ship or aircraft ballast, and counterbalances. Uranium is also used in making colored ceramic glazes. 

The primary use for uranium is in nuclear power reactors and in weapons. Low-enriched metal or ceramic UO2 fuel pellets (enriched in fissile U-235) are produced for commercial power reactors. Smaller quantities of high-enriched fuel are produced for shipboard power reactors and weapons manufacture. Depleted uranium, a by-product of the enrichment process, is used for armor-piercing ammunition for the military, for counter balances and weights, and for radiation shielding. A small amount of uranium is used in specialty chemicals and catalysts. 

A. Armor. The newest M1A1 tanks, dubbed "Heavies, have depleted uranium packets "molded" into the turret armor. A U at the end of the turret serial number identifies tanks with this material. The Ml A2 tanks also contain these DU packets in the turret armor package. 

B. Depleted Uranium (DU). During the enrichment process for nuclear fuel, Uranium-235 is removed from uranium ore. The by-product of this process is DEPLETED URANIUM (DU). The US Army and many other nations use DU in armor and munitions. As used by the US Army, DU is typically about 98.8% Uranium-238, 0.2% Uranium-235, and 0.0006% Uranium-234. The external radiation hazard from DU is roughly 40% less than an equal amount of natural uranium. 

Depleted uranium munitions were first used in combat during Operation Desert Storm with great success. The British, French, Russian, and Chinese military forces have DU armor piercing projectiles for anti-tank warfare. Also, many other nations are actively pursuing DU munition technology. Therefore, the next time US forces enter battle, DU munitions may be employed by opposing forces. 

Depleted Uranium - A mixture of uranium metal used in armor piercing rounds and in tank armor. DEPMED - The Chemically Protected Deployable Medical System. 

Depleted uranium (uranium containing mostly U-238) can be used for radiation shielding or as projectiles in armor-piercing weapons. 

US Army Material Command. (2000) Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) and Army Material Command (AMC) review of transuranics (TRU) in depleted uranium armor, Memorandttm, ATTN AMCSF, Alexandria, VA... 

Natural (NU or Unat), depleted (DU), low-enriched (LEU), and high-enriched (HEU) uranium the content of the only natural fissile isotope, U—is an important feature of uranium applications and value. In natural uranium, the content of this isotope is 0.720 atom % or 0.711 wt% (Table 1.2). LEU is defined as U content between 0.720% and just below 20%, while HEU encompasses uranium with U content above 20%. The 20% borderline between LEU and HEU is artificial and was based on the assumption that nuclear weapons with 20% or less U would not be efficient. The waste, or tails, of the isotope enrichment process contains less U than in natural uranium and is defined as depleted uranium (DU). The U-235 content in DU is usually in the range of 0.2%-0.4%. DU is used mainly in armor piecing ammunition, in reactive armor of tanks, in radiation shielding, and is also used as ballast weights in aircraft. In addition, many of the commercially available fine chemicals of uranium compounds are based on the tails of uranium-enrichment facilities and usually labeled as not of natural isotope composition. 

Since the density of the target material is usually 7.85 g cm (armor grade steel) one can only influence the penetration depth by the velocity, density and length of the penetrator. Table 7.2 summarizes the penetration depths depending on the penetrator material used (penetrator density). It is apparent why from a strategical point of view penetrators made of highly dense (and pyrophoric) depleted uranium are very suitable. 

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