Israel Military Industries unveils anti material ammunition
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עברית (Hebrew)
Israel Military Industries (IMI) has improved the veteran .50″ round to meet the operational needs of the Israeli defense forces (IDF).
Originally developed in 1910, the 12.7x 99 mm cartridge was developed for the Browning .50″ caliber machine gun around and entered official service in 1921. The rounds intended for use in machine guns are linked using metallic M2 & M9 links. This cartridge is also used in sniper rifles.
The cartridge has been manufactured in many variants including: Ball, Tracer, Armor Piercing (AP), Armor Piercing Incendiary (API), Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer (APIT), Saboted Light Armor Penetrator (SLAP & SLAP-T) and Long Range (LR) rounds.
APIT rounds are especially effective against aircraft and helicopters. The AP rounds and API rounds are excellent for stopping light armored vehicles, destroying bunkers, protective shelters and armored infrastructures.
Some of the former Soviet Republics use armored vehicles mounted with 14.5 mm KPV machine guns which have a significantly greater armor penetration capability than the 50″ round.
The IDF has also used the round since 1948, and asked IMI to improve it.
Recently the effectiveness of the round made by IMI was improved in order to enable its use against light armored vehicles. The R&D specialists from the Small Caliber Ammunition Division of IMI have developed a new .50″ Armour Piercing cartridge.
This cartridge has a 780 gr. projectile that features an improved hard core penetrator. This round has a muzzle velocity of 2,788 ft/s (850 m/s).
The cartridge can be identified by its black tip. This cartridge can be used both in .50″ machine guns and sniper rifles.
According to IMI, the projectile’s unbreakable core remains in one piece even after it penetrates the hardest of surfaces. IMI specialists are convinced that their new 50″ AP cartridge is one of the most powerful small caliber ammunition cartridges available.
