Dirty Harry is the name given to the special round chambered 5.56×45mm. The rounds are designed by BAE Systems and were safety and performance tested by QinetiQ to supplement the existing 5.56 standard NATO ammunition issued to British Forces.
Contents
Background
The necessity to use a more powerful round in place of regular 5.56mm NATO round was felt due to its unsatisfactory performance in medium-range engagements.
This resulted in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) requesting the development of a special round to be used from the existing SA80 rifles resulting in Dirty Harry.
Status
The ammunition was tested in 2010 in the Future Dismounted Close Combat research program. At a later point an initial order of about a million rounds is expected to be put up by the MoD.
References
Dirty Harry round Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA