imported post
Glock34 wrote:
I know why they want the 20 mm round...so they can fire depleted uranium rounds at us civilians when the civil war starts. Seriously, there is absolutely no reason for the FBI to need or obtain a sniper rifle type weapon that fires the 20 mm round, NON.
We civilians can legally obtain a 50 BMG rifle for now.. Gizzly, Barrett, etc. so the Gobernment needs to one up us all & get a 20 mm weapon. Go figure they got lots of money to burn..tax payers money that is.
DU's only good for AP 'n against incoming missile guidance systems (such as CIWS) I don't think 20mm is fast enough for that. However... HEI (High Explosive Incendiary) API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) will do far more damage than a solid slug .50 bullet will. (they don't explode).
"The 20mm MK149 was developed with a significant anti-armor capability, optimized exterior ballistic performance and short time-of-flight. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has produced in excess of 20,000,000 rounds of MK149 ammunition for the U.S. Navy's Phalanx Anti-Ship Missile Defense System.
The US Navy has replaced the
MK149-2 Phalanx round with a DU penetrator by the MK149-4 Phalanx round with a tungsten penetrator. In 1988 the Navy opted to transition the CIWS 20mm round from DU to tungsten. The Navy made the decision based on live fire tests that showed that tungsten met the Navy's performance requirements while offering reduced probabilities of radiation exposure and environmental impact. It should be noted that the "soft" targets the CIWS was designed to defeat-anti-ship missiles at close range-are far easier to destroy than "hard" targets like tanks.
Substantial stocks of DU ammunition delivered prior to that date remain in the inventory."
Team: 20mm AmmunitionHeight (max): 168mmWeight: 253gNumber Produced: 3M+Muzzle Velocity (nominal): 3700 f/sChamber Pressure (typical): 60,500 psiTrace (typical): Untraced
So... ya got a million rounds of this 20mm DU stuff sittin' around... Some FBI wonk sez... 'Hey... what if...?"