Tungsten Alloy Armor Piercing Shell

The latest close-in weapon developed by the Chinese military itself stands out among the world's active close-in defense weapons of the navy! It is a highly automated weapon system and is the representative of the domestic high-precision technical weapons field!

The overall performance of the new close-in weapon system is superior to the well-known Dutch "Goalkeeper CIWS", the US “Phalanx Close-In Weapon System", the Russian "AK-630" and other close-in defense systems. However, have you heard that this new close-in weapon system is equipped with the expensive tungsten alloy armor piercing instead of adopting the so-called "world's strongest" depleted uranium bombs which is insecure? Why does our military prefer to adopt the tungsten alloy armor piercing shell?

The so-called close-in gun refers to the cannon with a close range and a defensive function. Its caliber is relatively small and its range is close. It is very powerful. In addition, the gun is characterized by fast reaction, high hit accuracy, the ability to locate many targets, high credibility and other excellent properties. It owns the capabilities of anti cruise missiles and low altitude flight. Generally, aircraft carriers, different destroyers and frigates are equipped with the close-in guns, which are used to intercept anti-ship missiles and rocket guns, missiles or aircrafts that attack our ships, and fire at targets on the sea.

The close-in weapon system is the last barrier of military defense. Therefore, it must completely destroy the weapons and equipment of invaders in one shot. Otherwise, they will still cause damage to our army by virtue of superior inertia and kinetic energy. Based on this situation, the most lethal shells must be used. The penetration of high-explosive bombs and steel core bullets is too low. Even if the weapons and equipment are destroyed, the wreckage will hit our warships due to inertia and kinetic energy. Therefore, the close-in gun which can destroy the enemy’s weapons completely and avoid the subsequent hit of bombs’ wreckage is the best choice for the military. 

Now I am going to introduce the tungsten alloy piercing shell which is favored by Chinese military.

The armor-piercing projectile was already used in the battlefield as early as the 19th century. At that time, it mainly dealt with armored warships. It was not widely used at that time. Until the tanks were introduced in the First World War, armored ammunition was widely used in the battlefield, and its performance was also Great improvement. According to the different warheads of armor-piercing shell, ordinary armor-piercing bullets are usually divided into pointed armor-piercing shell, blunt-headed armor-piercing shell and armor piercing capped. The first two armor-piercing shells are mainly used to deal with homogeneous armor, while the latter one has a strong piercing ability which can deal with the surface-hardened heterogeneous armor.

Tungsten alloy armor piercing shell is a kind of tungsten heavy alloy products with military significance. It is an excellent kinetic energy armor-piercing shell which has been developed since the 1970s. It adopts the principle of shelling and high density tungsten alloy. Relying on the strength, weight and speed of the core, it can penetrate the armored bombs. The large initial kinetic energy, high initial velocity, good vertical armor piercing performance, long direct distance, short flight time and high shooting accuracy and other excellent properties enable the gun to effectively deal with rapidly moving multiple targets and give armor a fatal blow.

The tungsten alloy armor-piercing shell is mainly composed of a lightweight ballistic cap, a core, a projectile body and a tracer. It is a projectile that relies on the kinetic energy of the tungsten alloy core to penetrate the armor and destroy the target. The core is made of high density tungsten alloy and is the main body of the armor piercing shell. Its diameter is short, so the shape of the armor piercing shell can be designed to be streamlined. The tungsten alloy armor piercing shell relies on its core to penetrate the armor and destroy the target as well. The shell is made of low carbon steel or aluminum alloy and is mainly used to support the core. There is a guide belt on it to ensure the stability of the shell rotation. The tungsten alloy core is fixed in the middle of the shell. When the armor is hit, the body will burst instantly and then pierce. The tungsten alloy is hardly deformed during piercing because tungsten alloy owns high density, high hardness, good thermal stability and compression resistance. After breaking through the armor, high speed splashing of armor pieces, armor-piercing shell fragments, etc. kill the personnel in the targeted armor and destroy the equipment completely.

At this time, someone may say, “Why don’t you use the "strongest" depleted uranium bomb? It is super-killing, powerful, and cheaper. The price of a 30mm tungsten armor piercing shell can be up to 1,000 RMB and the firing rate of the close-in weapons can be up to 4,500 bullets per minute. The cost is extremely high. Depleted uranium is “waste utilization” and has low processing costs. It is obvious that the depleted uranium has economic advantages.”

What is the depleted uranium? 

Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium. Natural uranium contains about 0.72% U-235, while the DU used by the U.S. Department of Defense contains 0.3% U-235 or less. Uses of DU take advantage of its very high density of 19.1 g/cm3 (68.4% denser than lead). The less radioactive and non-fissile uranium-238 constitutes the main component of depleted uranium.

Civilian uses include counterweights in aircraft, radiation shielding in medical radiation therapy and industrial radiography equipment, and containers for transporting radioactive materials. Military uses include plating and armor piercing shell.

Indeed, the depleted uranium bombs are economical, and have better armor piercing effect, subsequent killing effect, and processability. However, the use of DU in munitions is controversial because of concerns about potential long-term health effects. Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and numerous other systems can be affected by exposure to uranium, a toxic metal. The depleted uranium bombs are highly radioactive. Once the bomb is launched, the pollution after dropping the bomb is catastrophic and causes long-term environmental and biological damage. The depleted uranium bomb can be described as an "unscrupulous" shell against humanity.

The above is my humble opinion of the tungsten alloy armor piercing shell applied to the close-in weapon systems. If you have any opinions to share with me, you can contact with Chinatungsten Online! 

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