DU can be used by DoD to engage the enemy at greater distances than tungsten penetrators or high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds because of improved ballistic properties. When they strike a target, tungsten penetrators blunt while DU has a self-sharpening property. DU ammunition routinely provides a 25 percent increase in effective range over traditional kinetic energy rounds. The illustration below is an artist's depiction of the sharpening effect of DU versus the mushrooming effect with a tungsten penetrator. Below that is an actual x-ray depicting this same phenomena.

Artist depiction shows why a DU penetrator, which
sharpens itself as it moves through armor, is much
more effective than tungsten, which becomes blunt.

DU's self-sharpening properties are evident in this
x-ray. Note how the tungsten penetrator's tip deforms
into a mushroom shape.

U.S. forces also use DU to enhance their tanks’ armor protection. In one noteworthy incident, an M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, its thick steel armor reinforced by a layer of DU sandwiched between two layers of steel, rebuffed a close-in attack by three of Iraq's T-72 tanks. After deflecting three hits from Iraq's tanks, the Abrams’ crew dispatched the T-72s with a single DU round to each of the three Iraqi tanks. An expanded account of this incident can be found in Tab F of our Environmental Exposure Report, Depleted Uranium in the Gulf (II).

Iraqi T-72 tank hit with DU penetrator.

Depleted uranium is also used in numerous commercial applications requiring a very dense material. These include: ballast and counterweights; balancing control devices on aircraft; balancing and vibration damping on aircraft; machinery ballast and counterweights; gyrorotors and other electromechanical counterweights; shielding for medicine and industry; shipping container shielding for radiopharmaceuticals; chemical catalyst; pigments; and, x-ray tubes.