A Lousy Shot: Ukrainian Army Complains About Shoddy US-Made Cartridges

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RIA Novosti quoted Sergei Zgurets, chief editor of the Ukrainian magazine Defence Express, as saying that Ukrainian soldiers are unhappy with the quality of sniper cartridges purchased from the US firm SBR. The Ukraine uses the ammunition in the current Donbass conflict. Zgurets, for his part, cited a military source:

The  US cartridges’ quality leaves much to be desired. These bullets “devour” our sniper rifles’ barrels. This ammunition is worse in terms of accuracy than what we buy on our own. The cores of the armour-piercing bullets just crumble when they touch an armoured barrier.

Zgurets pointed up:

Earlier this year, the Ukraine purchased four varieties of US-made cartridges for different ammo calibres for several types of sniper rifles. However, it turned out that the ammunition isn’t sufficiently accurate, and only a few of the US bullets were capable of piercing a 6-millimetre steel plate in bulletproof jackets. Armour-piercing 12.7mm and 8.58-mm cartridges have characteristics worse than the Soviet B-32 cartridge of a smaller calibre.

He quoted military sources:

The copper level in the purchased ammunition is less than what’s required; it is something that makes the bullet more “resilient”, so the wear and tear on the sniper weapons’ barrels allows them to fire only about a thousand shots. To make things worse, the US cartridges proved to be non-waterproof, and if a liquid leaked into such a cartridge, its powder can become damp. As far as sniper ammunition is concerned, the Americans got the money, which should prompt Kiev to demand that the cartridges’ quality is on a par with the price tag.

In late March, Ukrainian Defence Minister S T Poltorak said that the Ukrainian forces are now in need of some types of ammunition. He said:

The Ukraine is planning to buy ammunition from our partners while we build munitions factories in our country.

Also in March, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that US President Donald Trump wouldn’t provide any information related to sending lethal defensive weapons to the Ukraine because he doesn’t want to undermine his own negotiating strategy. At present, US military assistance to Kiev is limited to supplying uniforms and equipment, including counter-battery radars, drones, and means of secure communication.

4 May 2017

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201705041053266767-ukraine-united-states-ammunition-quality/

Editor:

The interesting thing about Poltorak is that he’s not a real soldier… he was a cop who specialised in protecting politicians. No wonder the Ukrainian forces can’t shoot straight… they’re led by a man who never served in a real army and who spent much of his life as a glorified bodyguard.  Such is life, though…

BMD

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