Does the United States still use depleted uranium ammunition?
Yes, it is very much part of the US arsenal and was used extensively in Iraq during the First (Operation Desert Storm) and Second Gulf War. Depleted uranium (DU) shells were also used in Kosovo and Bosnia. Uranium is a metal and is about 1.7 times as dense as lead. It can be made into a very hard alloy, well-suited for use in artillery shells. Because of its density, it is particularly effective for penetrating the heavily-armoured hulls of tanks. A 120mm shell, a standard NATO shell size used in many tanks, contains about 10 pounds of DU alloyed with other metals. DU is cheap and plentiful, a by-product of the nuclear power industry and weapons programs. The US began testing DU weapons in the mid-1950s and DU ammunition first entered service in 1978. It was not used in combat until Operation Desert Storm in 1991. During Desert Storm, some 14,000 DU shells were fired by US tanks: 7,000 during training in Saudi Arabia, 4,000 in combat, and 3,000 lost in accidents of one type or another.
