- Small Arms Projectiles. Must not be exploding or expanding projectiles.
The Declaration of St. Petersburg of 1868 prohibits exploding rounds of less
than 400 grams (14 ounces). The 1899 Hague Convention prohibits
expandmg rounds. US practice accedes to these prohbitions as being
customary international law. State practice is to use jacketed small arms
ammunition (which reduces bullet expansion on impact).
a. Hollow point ammunition. Typically, this is semi-jacketed ammunition
that is designed to expand dramatically upon impact. This ammunition is
prohibited for use in armed conflict against combatants by customary
international and the treaties mentioned above. There are limited
situations, however, where use of this ammunition is lawful because its
use will significantly reduce collateral damage to noncombatants and
protected property (hostage rescue, aircraft security).
b. High Velocity Small Caliber Arms.
(1)Early controversy about M- 16 causing unnecessary suffering.
(2)"Matchking" ammunition. Has a hollow tip--but is not expansive on
impact. Tip is designed to enhance accuracy only and does not cause
unnecessary suffering.
c. Sniper rifles, SO caliber machine guns, and shotguns. Much "mythology"
exists about the lawfulness of these weapon systems. Bottom line: they
are lawful weapons, although rules of engagement (policy and tactics)
may limit their use.
d. Superfluous Injury and Unnecessary Suffering Project: (SirUS): An
attempt by the ICRC to bring objectivity to the review of legality of
various weapons systems. The SirUS project attempted to use casualty
survival rates off the battlefield, as well as the seriousness of the inflicted
injury, as the criteria for determining if a weapon causes unnecessary
suffering. The U.S. position is that the project was inherently flawed
because its database of casualty figures is mostly based upon wounds
inflicted in domestic disturbances, civil wars, from antipersonnel mines
and from bullets of undetermined type. See Maj Donna Verchio, Just Say
No! The SirUS Project: Well-Intentioned, but Unnecessavy and
Superfluous, 51 A.F.L. Rev. 183 (2001).
- Fragmentation. FM 27-10, para 34.
