Posted on 11/07/2001 9:34:40 AM PST by tarawa
American Ammunition Files Patent Application for Bullet That Will Not Pierce Aircraft Fuselage
MIAMI--Oct. 31, 2001--American Ammunition, Inc. (OTCBB:AAMI), announces it has been assigned a serial number (60/ 325,046) from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its provisionalpatent application filed on September 26, 2001 for a bullet that will not pierce an aircraft fuselage but will penetrate human soft tissue. The product has been specifically designed for use inside the cabin of a commercial aircraft, with additional applications such as nuclear power plants, hazardous materials storage facilities, and home defense. American Ammunition has departed completely from standard ballistics and designed this projectile to meet this growing and unfilled need. Two of the basic design criteria in ballistics are penetration and expansion of the projectile. These two factors have been controlled to meet the specific requirements of weapons discharged inside an aircraft cabin, while insuring fuselage integrity. This design is a new concept in close quarter ammunition: a bullet capable of incapacitating an assailant without terminally damaging surrounding structure.
Design and material selection allows for the inverted expansion and aft internal collapse of the projectile mass. Upon impact with the aircraft fuselage, the bullet (projectile) internally collapses; therefore not allowing for the transfer of kinetic energy forward or penetration above that required for soft tissue penetration. Testing has been successful in Jetliner and Commuter fuselages as well as successful testing into ordinance gelatin and bovine raw meat. This performance criterion is accomplished without sacrificing the standard velocity and accuracy of the caliber being used. A video of those tests can be viewed on the Company website in the New Product section, http://www.a-merc.com.
This development will contribute to the safety of pilots, Air Marshals and the traveling public.
American Ammunition has been invited to demonstrate its new ammunition at the Georgia Tactical Officers Association (GTOA) on November 2, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. at the Cobb County Police Department Training Center in Atlanta, GA. Police officers from across the State will attend the conference. For further information interested parties may contact Major O.T. Norton at the Georgia State Patrol. Phone Number: (404) 624-7430. Fax Number: (404) 624-7431.
American Ammunition is an autonomous manufacturer of ammunition, with the technology and equipment to capitalize upon the growing defense and retail markets. The ammunition industry has experienced a 28% average increase in revenues annually between 1991 through 1998, and the trend is expected to continue through the year 2005 and beyond.
I mean those missionaries were able to land their little cessna after it (and a woman and child) had been ridled with bullet holes from a CIA guided fighter jet. So I think a 767 can take a couple of standard 9mm rounds just fine.
They showed some shots into ballistic gelatin to indicate the effectiveness. Coupla issues here. First, ballistic gelatin needs to be calibrated (you know how stiff or how runny Jell-O can be!). Furthermore, even if we assume it was properly calibrated, there is no linear scale. Making a SWAG from their video, I'd guess there is 5-6" penetration. According to well-regarded ballistics experts like Fackler, one needs around 12" penetration to assure a hit to vital organs (i.e. the midplane of the chest of a grown man, hit from the side and traversing an arm). Finally, they need to show that their projectile can still penetrate a sufficient distance in calibrated gelatin after penetrating clothing.
The FBI has a series of tests for evaluating terminal ballistics. While some of these are irrelevant, and in fact, counterproductive in the aircraft setting (e.g. they want their ammo to be able to penetrate an automobile windshield), they also do testing that evaluates the effects of clothing on terminal ballistics.
American Ammunition's video does not prove that their ammunition can do all they say it can do.
You're forgetting one very important thing. Modern airliners are pressurized. Remember the Comet aircraft the Brits built? They found out the hull ruptured around rivets and then the pressurization of the hull caused it to burst open like a dropped egg. A bullet or two could cause the same problem. Also, there are oxygen lines inside the compartments, hit one..........BOOM.
Oxygen is non-flammable- i.e., passing a spark through O2 will not cause a flame- the oxygen can't "burn" itself. An oxygen rich atmosphere will make other things burn much more energetically than the usual 20% concentration, but the oxygen itself will not, cannot explode.
plus, the explosive/catastrophic decompression thing is a crock.
Or a large, low velocity (240 grain soft lead .44 spcl) projectile.
small hole good, big hole better.
My first thought as well. Such bullets have been around for years; this is nothing new.
It's not like there are not several different makes and types of frangible ammunition already on the market. Doesn't mean that this one isn't in some way a better mouse trap, just that it's far from the first. Those arguments were always just camel dung anyway.
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