New "green" bullets for the Army

A 2006 survey of combat vets found enemy soldiers shot multiple times still kept fighting. One in five U.S. soldiers polled recommended a more lethal round.

The answer was the M855A1 enhanced-performance round, also known as “green ammo.” It provides more stopping power at longer distances. If it hits the enemy, he is going down.

Much early data is still classified but expected to be released in coming weeks. But soldiers from two battalions of the 101st Airborne Division “praised the hard-target performance of the M855A1 over the M855 and commended the ability to engage targets at longer distances,” said Picatinny Arsenal spokeswoman Audra Calloway. The soldiers were surveyed in December and January during operations in Afghanistan.

The Army plans to produce more than 200 million of these rounds in the coming year, officials say. It’s likely you will soon fire them from a new carbine. The Army is replacing 500,000 M4s with an enhanced version of the Special Operations Command M4A1, which has a heavy barrel and automatic fire. The Army also will replace its 600,000 M16s with the enhanced M4A1 — or something better. A $30 million carbine competition is underway.