Should the U.S. Army Adopt New 5.56mm Ammunition Cartridge Designs to Reduce Overall Ammunition Weight?

In today's conflicts, United States (U.S.) Soldiers are required to carry up to 80 pounds or more of combat gear into the fight, including an ammunition basic load of at least 210 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. This ammunition weighs approximately 5.5 pounds, with roughly half of this weight from the brass cartridge case. As these cases are not normally recovered from the battlefield, it is weight carried that offers little return once the cartridge is fired. Given ongoing programs, patents, and technologies in development in both the Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial organizations to lighten the Soldier's overall load, there now exists an opportunity to reduce the weight of this 5.56mm ammunition. This thesis will present the history and reasons for the adoption of the current 5.56mm ammunition, potential new lightweight ammunition options, and the developmental considerations associated with approving a potential lightweight ammunition type. This thesis will then show the selection and evaluation criteria for these potential ammunition designs. Next, these different designs will be compared to the current standard M855 5.56mm ammunition, then to each other, to determine the best overall recommended design. Finally, this thesis will discuss the implications of the recommended design, and suggestions for future study.