Improved Lightweight Ammunition Cases (ILAC)

The military transports hundreds of millions of rounds of small-caliber ammunition domestically for training and internationally for wartime activities each year. Aside from the logistics cost of moving the rounds, the cost to produce rounds with brass cartridge cases is tied to the escalating price of copper. Additionally, soldiers in small units (squads/fire teams/crews) are physically overburdened with weapons, equipment, and ammunition, hindering their ability as a warfighter to successfully accomplish missions. It is, therefore, extremely desirable to explore optional materials for producing lower-cost rounds with reduced weight to be used in traditional small-caliber weapons. The objective of this effort is to develop an innovative lightweight 5.56mm cartridge case meeting or exceeding the capabilities of the current brass cased ammunition while reducing the weight of the cartridge case by a minimum of 30% threshold with an objective of 40%. The case must have sufficient volume to allow use of currently available qualified 5.56mm propellants and achieve the required velocity of current 5.56mm ammunition without exceeding the stated chamber pressure for each current ammunition sub-type.