5.56x45mm NATO

Small calibre rifle round, used very commonly by NATO forces. A mainstay of the US Armed Forces.

History
The first reduced caliber/light rifle round to be adopted, 5.56x45mm NATO soon became known worldwide. Lightweight, accurate, low recoil and compact, 5.56 soon became a mainstay of many a military. However, it has always been somewhat criticised for limited armour piercing and terminal effect capacity.

American Ammunition

 * M193: 55-grain FMJ, used by the US Military during Vietnam and later conflicts, replaced by M855 in the 1980s. M193 has a very high muzzle velocity, and despite being a mere lead slug, clears many steel armours such as AR500 easily. This round is popular with survivalists and civilians to this day, although it is certainly long in the tooth for military usage. Well-rounded and highly recommended for starter usage. The tracer version is M196. Remember that M193 is very velocity-dependent, so in carbines may not show same penetration.
 * M193A1: Hotter version of M193 with superior velocity.
 * M196: Tracer version of M193.
 * XM287: Experimental ball loading used in the Vietnam War by the SEALs.
 * XM779: Upgraded version of XM287.
 * CBC TW12: 55-grain steel core round with external ballistics similar to M193 but considerably better armor penetration.
 * M855: Belgian SS109 62-grain FMJ with a steel penetrator, eventually adopted by US for M16A2 rifles. Slower than M193 and notorious for underwhelming terminal ballistics, M855 is excellent for piercing polyethylene armor due to its harder steel core being very difficult for polyethylene plates to pancake. The tracer version is M856. Requires higher velocities for good terminal.
 * M856: Tracer version of M855.
 * M855LF: Lead-free 62-grain FMJ loading akin to M855.
 * P112: AP version of M855 that went unadopted by the US.
 * XM777: 55-grain experimental round that competed but lost to M855. Generally a straight upgrade from M193 in all respects but wounding.
 * Liberty T3: Three-part fragmenting round that traces M855A1 as its descendant. Robust all-around performance.
 * Liberty T1: Relative of Liberty T3 with less fragmentation and more penetration.
 * Liberty T3-110: Heavyweight all-tungsten fragmenting relative of M855A1. Brutal terminal ballistics and excellent penetration. However, weighing in at 110 grains, it doesn't have the best reach.
 * Liberty National Defense: Recent upgrade of Liberty T3 that effectively functions as an M855A3.
 * M855A1: A potent fragmenting steel-core/copper-core load that combines the strengths of M193 and M855. Robust terminal ballistics and capable of defeating most entry level body armour up to around NIJ III, M855A1 is the current-issue round of the US Army and serves very well in that capacity. The tracer version is M856A1.
 * M856A1: Tracer version of M855A1.
 * M855A2: Liberty Ammunition's improved version of M855A1. Better in every way.
 * M856A2: Tracer version of M855A2.
 * M995: 52-grain tungsten penetrator. The most well known 5.56x45mm AP loading, M995 can challenge a large variety of common plates all the way up to some NIJ-IV models. Barrier penetration is superb and it can easily get through walls. Unfortunately, terminal ballistics, like almost all AP rounds, is poor.
 * M995A1: Upgraded relative of M995 with superior penetration.
 * M1159 ADVAP: The US Military's newly-adopted AP loading. Outstanding properties against body armor and barriers.
 * DUDS: Depleted Uranium Discarding Sabot. Ultimate penetration out of a 5.56x45mm cartridge.
 * Mk318: A barrier-blind load adopted by the US Marine Corps. Great against windshields but not so hot against body armor. It nonetheless has good stopping power and is a good pick for fighting insurgents you need dropped quick, especially those sitting inside a car bomb.
 * ATK TOTM: 77-grain souped up relative of Mk318 with outstanding wounding and barrier blind abilities.
 * Berl killed a Hind with this in ArmA 3 once.
 * Mk262: 77-grain OTM developed for designated marksmen. Hits hard but sacrifices velocity and armor penetration. This won't penetrate any serious armor plates, but it still has the capacity to defeat typical soft armor such as NIJ-IIIA panels.
 * Tipped Match King: Updated version of Mk262 with superior wounding.


 * PRL-87: 87-grain tungsten-tin blended metal round that served with US special forces in the 1990s. Essentially a frangible, higher-grade counterpart to Mk262.
 * DRT87: Successor to the PRL 87-grain match-grade blended metal projectile.
 * DRT79: 79-grain relative of DRT87.
 * DRT150: 150-grain subsonic blended metal frangible.
 * ASP100: 100-grain frangible subsonic.
 * ASP127: 127-grain frangible subsonic.
 * Glaser Safety Slug: Supersonic frangible with decent ballistics and limited penetration. Robust velocity.
 * AAI Flechette: Tungsten flechette moving at near-ultravelocity speed. Limited wounding but excellent penetration.
 * LE223T3: 62-grain tactical loading with excellent barrier penetration.
 * LE223T1: 55-grain tactical loading with excellent barrier penetration.
 * TUI: Fort Scott brass tumbling round with superb barrier blind abilities. It'll go through walls clean and still produce good wounds.
 * PRL-100: 100-grain tungsten-tin blended metal round that served with US special forces in the 1990s. Hits hard but doesn't penetrate much.
 * PRL-150: 150-grain tungsten-tin blended metal subsonic. Quiet, slow, and very punchy.


 * TAP: Match-grade loading with robust anti-barrier and terminal performance. Useful tactical loading common with law enforcement.
 * Black Hills BH100: 100-grain Open-tip Match tungsten frangible with excellent terminal ballistics. Velocity is low and it drops like a rock.
 * Black Talon: Legendary hollow point that, contrary to CNN, does not defeat body armor.
 * Gold Dot: 64-grain tactical loading with robust all-around properties.
 * NATEC FMJ: Lightweight cased-FMJ loading. Has a tracer variant.
 * NATEC HP: Hollow-point load in a lightweight case.
 * RBCD Personal Defense 37: Lightweight 37-grain round with more of a focus on terminal ballistics over penetration.
 * RBCD Special Applications 37: Lightweight 37-grain round with claimed barrier-blind abilities, albeit with a varmint projectile.
 * RBCD Special Applications 43: Lightweight 43-grain round with claimed barrier-blind abilities, albeit with a varmint projectile.
 * LeMas APLP: Souped-up version of the RBCD Special Applications load.
 * LeMas HARPP: Defeats 1/2" AR500 through a combination of too much powder and a lightweight projectile.
 * Colt-2 Duplex: Duplex FMJ loading.
 * Colt SSB (Salvo Squeezebore): Triplex loading. With three projectiles per shot, this really ups hit probability but penalizes range and per-projectile stopping power.
 * Colt SSB5 (Salvo Squeezebore): Five-projectile multiplex loading. Even more extreme than the normal SSB, this produces a shotgun-class effect out of a normal rifle.
 * Olin-I Duplex: Early duplex loading with decent penetrative abilities.
 * Olin-II Duplex: Duplex tungsten-core loading.
 * Olin-III Duplex: Late FMJ duplex.

European Ammunition

 * DM31: Modern tungsten-core AP loading used by the Bundeswehr, 62-grain, and superior to M995 against ceramic armor.
 * Swiss P AP: 62-grain match-grade competitor to DM31. Generally similar performance.
 * AP4: 62-grain successor to M995 developed by Nammo. Better performance at range, albeit with lower velocity.
 * AP45: 4.5-gram upgraded version of AP4.
 * ELP Glider: Very lightweight tubular projectile that glides to a target. Excellent velocity but marginal penetration and weak terminal performance.
 * DFA (Delta Frangible): Frangible loading designed for limited penetration in tight situations.
 * THV (Tres Haute Vitesse): French reverse-ogive loading with good penetration and velocity. Wounding is a little light but it does good work.
 * Monad-B: Brass "Monad" descendant of the original THV. Improved version in use with South African forces.
 * Monad-C: Copper "Monad" descendant of the original THV. Reduced penetration and performance versus the brass version, albeit with slightly better wounding.
 * FN Superperforating: Tungsten SLAP loading with excellent anti-armor performance and tremendous velocity.
 * PS522I: Experimental steel-core AP loading hailing from Europe.

South African Ammunition

 * Butter: South African tactical loading.
 * Manna: Limited-range 5.56 loading designed for South African law enforcement.
 * Boss: Good-wounding 5.56 tactical loading designed for South African law enforcement.

Other

 * SSA SLAP: Tungsten-core SLAP load with high velocity and excellent armor penetration. Will clear Level IV plates with ease.
 * Engels 140-FMJ: 140-grain subsonic FMJ loading.
 * Engels 140-AP: 140-grain subsonic AP.
 * TW75: Another experimental steel-core AP loading from the late 20th century.
 * 91FNB: Experimental flechette loading with a steel penetrator. Outstanding velocity but limited wounding.
 * DSG XMP: Super-heavy tungsten penetrator. Excellent penetration.
 * HAPI: Hard Armor Penetrating Incendiary. Defeats Level IV plates with ease at close range.
 * RS101: Russian general-purpose loading meant for the export market. Performs similarly to 7N10M.
 * Nammo High Performance: Excellent, all-around high performer with robust Level III-penetrating AP abilities.
 * Frankford Duplex: Duplex FMJ loading.
 * ARDEC-3S: Triplex steel AP loading. Has a tracer variant.
 * ARDEC-3B: Triplex brass general-purpose loading. Has a tracer variant.
 * ARDEC-4S: Quad-projectile multiplex AP loading. Has a tracer variant.
 * ARDEC-4B: Quad-projectile brass general-purpose loading. Has a tracer variant.
 * MBA Concealment: Experimental poisoned silent round designed for assassination and taking out checkpoints.
 * HD: Less-lethal rubber round.
 * G2 Trident: Special tactical loading with good wounding.
 * DSG Cav-X: Supercavitating AP round that works underwater.
 * LNDC: Experimental 110-grain subsonic duplex.