New ammo improves safety, reduces damage

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ken Hall
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Balad Air Base, Iraq --  Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots at the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Base, Iraq, are employing a new 20mm cannon round in their M61/A1 Gatling guns for the first time, improving pilot safety while reducing collateral damage. 

Improved PGU-28A/B 20mm ammunition began replacing the long-used M56 high explosive incendiary ammunition in the wing's F-16s, making pilots' jobs easier, safer and more effective. 

The older M56 ammo required pilots to get in closer to a target because the round would not explode on impact if it did not get there fast enough. The new cannon round employs a more aerodynamic design and "hotter load," which increases its velocity and effective range, allowing greater standoff distance for pilots, according to wing officials. 

That increased distance directly translates to greater pilot safety overall, because they can fire the new rounds from more than a mile and a half away, said Capt. Jim Maxwell, the deputy chief of weapons and tactics at the wing. 

The captain also noted that when bullets can be used instead of bombs, the potential for collateral damage is reduced as well, increasing airpower options for the ground commander who must calculate the desired result when calling in air support. 

When the ammo arrived, 332nd EMXS munitions members received and inspected more than 80,000 rounds in six hours - compared to 8,000 rounds usually processed in a typical day.  

The rounds then made their way through loading machines, called replenishers, to fill drummed universal ammunition loading systems, which are used by weapons loaders to arm the wing's F-16s. 

"Airmen toiled around the clock swapping PGU ammo for M56 rounds over a period of two days," said Capt. Kevin Tanner, 332nd EMXS officer in charge, deployed from Aviano.  

That hard work allowed F-16 pilots to employ the ammo quickly. 

"Our ammo and weapons loader personnel are just phenomenal," said Lt. Col. Patrick Kumashiro, the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Group deputy commander. "Ours is a total force team effort, and they managed to get our F-16s loaded within an amazing 48 hours of the ammo's arrival." 

Capt. George Watkins and 1st Lt. David Bennett, both deployed from Aviano to the 510th EFS, made up the first two-ship combat mission to use the new cannon rounds. The pilots worked as a team employing standard night tactics where one "sparkles" the target with infrared marker invisible to anyone not wearing night vision goggles, and the other then strafes and destroys the target. 

"I'm excited to have the new ammo, and glad to employ it to help the guys on the ground," Lieutenant Bennett said. 

Captain Watkins agreed, adding that "protecting the guys on the ground is our number one priority, and having the new ammo makes it easier and safer for us to do that."
Col. Scott Dennis commands the wing's 332nd Operations Group. 

"It's critical for ground forces who call in air support to get it when they need it," he said. "These new rounds certainly kick our (close-air support) effectiveness up a notch."