5.56x45mm NATO (no ontology)

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Revision as of 00:28, 3 January 2013 by SU Tempest (Talk | contribs)

The 5.56x45mm NATO (also known as 5.56 NATO) is a small rifle caliber developed in 1964, and suited for assault rifles and light machine guns.

It is a moderately powerful round, but extremely common and reliable. Very famous and popular, it is an important caliber in modern warfare, used by a great amount of armed forces, paramilitaries, armed groups, and so on. In Mazeworld, it is considered a medium-tier caliber.

Real-life data

Although visually identical to the .223 Remington, the 5.56 NATO caliber is not the same, due to its military specifications. Suited for military purposes, it is best not to mix up the two calibers as the .223 Remington is a civilian round, with lower power, and weapons suited for the civilian .223 Remington may not be able to take the higher pressures generated by the 5.56 NATO without wear, damage, or danger to the shooter.

Officially designated in 1964, the caliber was actually designed prior to the introduction of the Colt M16, variants of the 5.56 NATO being developed as wildcats and testing ammunition for compatible weapons produced before this year. Although roughly three times less powerful than its larger cousin, the 7.62 NATO, it found its way as the current service caliber of several armed forces in the world, perfectly suited to close and medium-range encounters, up to an effective range of 300 meters, which is in average, the range of typical combat situations and firefights.

The round is intended for assault rifles, although there have been medium-range sniper rifles developed for this caliber, as well as light machine guns for close- and medium-range confrontations. It is used by military, special forces, anti-terrorism units, and many other kinds of military and paramilitary forces throughout the world. The round is most associated with the NATO standard STANAG magazines, which was designed for easier interchangeability between NATO and NATO-friendly armed forces.

Mazeworld overview

Type Unarm Light Hardskin Kevlar-2 Kevlar-3 Kevlar-4 HEV
Bullet 60% 58% 55% 49% 35% 19% 6%

How to read this?

It must be noted that belts for the Minimi and for the Negev are not interchangeable.

Weapons compatible

Class 1 weapons

Class 2 weapons

Gallery

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See also