Courtesy of Tactical Life

The U.S. Marine Corps might be adopting the Army’s M855A1 round, officials said Tuesday.

According to Military.com, the Corps currently uses M855 ammunition in its M16A4 and M4 5.56mm rifles rather than the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round the Army employs for its rifles. The reason the USMC hasn’t gone with the M855A1 thus far is the fact that testing showed it caused reliability and durability issues in its M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle.

• RELATED STORY: Army Chief of Staff – We’ve Developed a Round that Can Pierce 5.56 Body Armor

But while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday regarding the subject of Marine Corps ground modernization, Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the Corps had sent the M855A1 round with a deployment of 300 Marines to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.

“The good news with that round … specifically the Army 855A1, is much better at penetrating armor,” Walsh said. “So that’s a good reason to go with that.”

Walsh said the Corps is also looking at the possibility of using USSOCOM’s MK318 round, which is touted as being more accurate than the M855.

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Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center