As near as I can tell, the USAF and the US Army are still using DU rounds and armor (for the tanks.)  The US Navy and Marines have
discontinued the use of DU. I think the Navy used them in Vulcan Phalanx CIWS, but I am not too sure of this.

I am certainly willing to be corrected on this, there are enough military types on this list, I should be able to be corrected
quickly.

The alternative to DU is tungsten, which is much more expensive and nowhere near as effective.


Denys

-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Johnson, Tracy
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 11:48 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OT : US uses Indian 'threat' to force Pak support

The other issue is that DU rounds are no longer being used.
(Except in the U.K. where they will be simply used up.)

Tracy Johnson
MSI Schaevitz Sensors

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Denys Beauchemin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 11:28 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT : US uses Indian 'threat' to force Pak
> support
>
>
> The Republic Thunderbolt II A-10 (AKA Warthog) is indeed a
> formidable ground attack aircraft.  The plane is built around the
> seven-barrel GAU 8/A 30mm Avenger cannon, which fires a .94
> lbs (.49kg) round made up of depleted uranium.  The Warthog carries a
> full load of 1,174 rounds and a variety of ordnance on up to
> 11 hard points under the wings and fuselage.  The primary
> weapon of the
> A-10 however, is the AGM-65 Maverick missile because of its
> accuracy, effectiveness and the fact it can be fired from a longer
> distance than the Avenger gun.
>
> The use of depleted uranium in the core of a projectile has
> raised some controversy ever since its debut.  At first, the Soviets
> accused the US of fielding atomic weapons in the A-10 but the
> radioactivity of the DU round is really negligible.  The reason DU is
> used in such rounds is a question of mass.  DU is extremely
> dense (2.5 times greater than steel) and can thus concentrate a lot of
> mass on a single hard point inside the projectile.  This
> dense core can defeat most armor.
>
> The M-1 Abrams main battle tank also uses DU in two ways.  1-
> The 120mm smoothbore round it fires also as a DU core.  It is much
> bigger than the one in the 30mm round of the A-10.  2- The
> armor of the M-1 Abrams tank is made up of DU encased in steel.
>
> http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/faq_17apr.htm
>
> I do not know where Guy got his figure of 10,000 but I
> suspect it is inconsistent with reality.  Whilst we have all
> heard of Gulf
> War syndrome or disease, it has nothing to do with DU. On the
> other hand it is much more likely that such a syndrome may be
> associated with exposure to undetected bio- or chemical
> weapons used by Saddam.
>
> BTW, the British Challenger II main battle tank also fires a
> 120mm round with a core of DU.
>
> Denys
>
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