The U.S. Army is working on a new bullet that will supplant the current 5.56 mm round in at least some applications. It will be able to penetrate the body armor currently worn by Islamic State jihadists.
According to Army Times, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday and told them the Army is working on the new bullet.
Milley said, “The 5.56 round, we recognize there is a type of body armor it does not penetrate, and adversarial states are selling that stuff on the Internet for about 250 bucks.” He then pointed out that the Army is already onto a solution, saying, “We know we have developed a bullet that can penetrate these new plates.”
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) asked if the new bullet requires a new rifle. Milley said, “It might, but probably not.”
King asked if the new rifle could be an “existing, off-the-shelf” model, and Milley said, “Yes, there are several options out there.”
For now, the Army is replacing the M4 with a Heckler and Koch 417 chambered in a 7.62 mm “for squad designated marksmen.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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