Even before opening their new 210,000 square foot Jacksonville Arkansas Ammunition Center, SIG SAUER had been innovating in the ammunition space. Take for example their hybrid case ammo now used by the US Army as part of the Next Generation Squad Weapon program.
During the recent Global Defense Demo Day in Las Vegas the ammunition team showcased their latest developments.
One of the biggest announcements was that new military caliber ammunition using the hybrid case will be referred to as HYP for Hybrid Performance and pronounced “hype.” Their 5.56 HYP is demonstrating a +400 fps increase over M855A1. Naturally, that comes with even higher chamber pressures than M855A1, but the increase in velocity is impressive.
They also showcased their Multipurpose projectile which features a copper body with steel tip. It is currently available in 6.5 CM, 6.8, 7.62 NATO, and 338 NM.
SIG Ammunition revealed, what is believed to be, the first 338 NM Tracer. It has a 12-1500m burnout with a 25m turn on. They are also working on a 6.8 CM and 7.62 NATO traditional tracer round with a 1000m burnout. Additionally, they informed me One Way Luminescence (OWL) tracers and well as signature on target rounds are under development.
The body armor plates below were all shot at 100m with SIG HYP ammunition using A1 projectiles (M855A1 or M80A1). In defense of the plates, they are NIJ Level 4 certified and the loads they were subjected to are in excess of their rating. The point is to show that these new HYP rounds from SIG offer an overmatch to current armor.
As you can see, the HYP cartridges are an interesting option for NATO standard armies and other allies who will continue to use 5.56 and 7.62.
SIG has prepared this video to show some of these ammunition efforts in action.
The video covers the first-of-its-kind 338 tracer ammunition, the impressive barrier penetration of SIG Hybrid Ammunition, and the impact of 300 BLK in gel testing.
I’ve included these two images to offer you a close up of the concrete blocks before and after firing with the 7.62 HYP rounds.
We are looking forward to these new ammunition offerings to made available.
