POLYMERIC CARTRIDGE CASE

THE OBJECT OF THIS EFFORT WILL BE A REDUCTION IN WEIGHT AND PRODUCTION COSTS, RELATING TO THE CURRENT 5.56 BRASS CASED AMMUNITION CARRIED BY THE U.S. MILITARY FORCES. IT WILL INVOLVE THE EVALUATION OF MATERIALS AND DESIGNS USED BY AMMUNITION TECHNOLOGIES INC (A.T.I.) IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE M193 PLASTIC CARTRIDGE CASE DEMONSTRATED AT FORT LEWIS WASHINGTON IN SEPTEMBER OF 1988. THESE MATERIALS AND DESIGNS TO THE EXTENT THEY MAY APPLY, WILL BE UTILIZED IN A M855 CONFIGURATION AND SUBJECTED TO TEST PROCEDURES. THIS EFFORT CAN BE CONDUCTED UTILIZING CURRENT A.T.I. TOOLING WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS FOR THE SS109 PROJECTILE. THE A.T.I. M193 PLASTIC CARTRIDGE CASE IS A THIN WALL DESIGN WHICH EMPLOYS A STEEL HEAD END, A PRESSURE BULK HEAD, CONVENTIONAL PRIMER AND POWDER. THIS THIN WALL DESIGN MAINTAINS SUFFICIENT INTERNAL PROPELLANT VOLUME TO ACHIEVE STANDARD BALLISTICS USING SMOKELESS POWDERS. THE EFFORT WILL CONSIST OF THE MODIFICATION OF A.T.I. M193 TOOLING, A CLOSE LOOK AT INTERNAL PROPELLANT VOLUMES AND A STUDY OF THE PEAK PRESSURE AND PROPELLANT PROFILE. CORRESPONDING EXTERNAL BALLISTICS WILL BE RECORDED.