What is Tungsten Alloy Armor Piercing?

Tungsten alloy armor piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing tungsten projectiles were to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions.

Some smaller-caliber AP shells have an inert filling, or incendiary charge in place of the HE bursting charge. The AP shell is now little used in naval warfare, as modern warships have little or no armor protection. The product remains the preferred round in tank warfare, as it has a greater "first-hit kill" probability than a high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round, especially against a target with composite armor, and because of higher muzzle velocity, is also more accurate than a HEAT round.

Tungsten alloy armor piercing ammunition is used to penetrate heavy hardened armored targets such as armored vehicles, concrete bunkers, tanks and other defenses. Depending on the caliber of the firearms. It is ammunition consists of a penetrator constructed of tungsten alloy or tungsten carbide, or depleted uranium, enclosed within a softer jacket, such as copper or aluminum. The product ammunition can range from rifle and pistol caliber rounds all the way up to tank rounds.

Rifle and pistol rounds are usually built around a penetrator of hardened steel or tungsten. Aircraft and tank rounds sometimes use a tungsten alloy core. The penetrator is a pointed mass of high-density material that is designed to retain its shape and carry the maximum possible amount of energy as deeply as possible into the target. High explosive incendiary/armor piercing ammunition combines a tungsten carbide penetrator with an incendiary and explosive tip.

Rifle ammunition generally carries its hardened penetrator within a copper or cupronickel jacket, similar to the jacket that would surround lead in a conventional projectile. Upon impact on a hard target, the copper case is destroyed, but the penetrator continues its motion and penetrates the target. It's ammunition for pistols has also been developed and uses a design similar to the rifle ammunition.

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