This shocking report from the frontlines of Afghanistan will
bring back the old debate and arguments concerning 5.56 x 45mm vs
the 7.62 x 51mm rounds - both being NATO standards.
While the 5.56mm round is used by most military including the
SAF for its size that allow more to be carried by a single soldier
- it seems that it remains good for close combat, but its
effectiveness tapers off when battles are fought at a distance.
From L to R : 5.56 x 45mm (NATO), 30-30,
Winchester, 7.62 x 51mm NATO
‘British bullets too small to fell 'high' Taliban’
(*1)
The bullets used by British forces to fight the Taliban in
Afghanistan has been dubbed too small, because soldiers claim that
it requires at least five direct hits to bring down the militants
who are high on opium.
According to a report, British soldiers in Afghanistan use small
5.56mm calibre rounds also tail off after 300 metres and can easily
be blown off the target. Half of all fire fights in Helmand are
fought between 300 and 900 metres.
Meanwhile, Taliban marksmen use powerful 7.62mm ammunition for
their AK47 machine guns, the Sun reports.The report calls for guns
that take larger ammunition to replace all standard-issue SA80
rifles — which many believe were exposed as inadequate in Iraq in
2003.
Report co-author Nicholas Drummond, a strategy consultant and
ex-Welsh Guards officer, secretly questioned more than 50 soldiers
who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“A British soldier’s rifle is not much more useful than a
peashooter. He can’t attack with any certainty that if he hits the
enemy he will kill or incapacitate him,” he said.
One soldier in 2nd Battalion, the Rifles in Helmand, shot a
Taliban fighter five times and he still got up to dive for cover,
researchers were told.
The study claims car doors easily stop the ammunition. It added
that Javelin anti-tank missiles — at £100,000 apiece are often
fired at lone gunmen. Just one in four British, US and German
troops has been issued with guns using 7.62mm ammo.