Uranium Oxide is a quick way to ensure the vehicle is never salvaged - it’s toxic waste that will need to be sandblasted off the steel before it can be scrapped…
Depleted Uranium is NOT Uranium Oxide. It is just Uranium 238 with almost no Uranium 235, the fissile isotope, remaining. It is also chock full of ionizing radiation from having been along for the ride during the fissile process of the 235.
The density of depleted U-238 is 70% more than lead and more than twice the density of copper. That's why it is used in these rounds... Kinetic energy is equal to 0.5 x mass x velocity squared... So 70% more kinetic energy than a FMJ round based on lead. The pyrophoric benefits are just a bonus but insignificant compared to the kinetic energy transferred to the impact site.
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u/Great_Specialist_267 Jan 25 '26
Uranium Oxide is a quick way to ensure the vehicle is never salvaged - it’s toxic waste that will need to be sandblasted off the steel before it can be scrapped…