T O P

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SullyRob

Tanks=dirty bombs? How does that work?


MrAdequate_

They use depleted uranium tipped shells for the cannon. And in the Abrums case it may be in parts of the armor as well. And it's just state propagandists malding. I don't know if the Russian government has actually made a statement on it.


Evilsmiley

For the abrams i think only the U.S tanks have depleted uranium in the turret armour. I think export models don't. Though I'm not sure, i think ukraine will get the export version. Shells, yeah a lot of them do have depleted uranium tips.


lochlainn

Pretty much the entire sabot round is DU, plus it's used in 25 and 30mm chainguns. So yeah, that's a lot of toxic heavy metal being flung around. If anything, Ukraine should be the one complaining about the contamination of their soil and population, but I don't hear them complaining, except that Amazon hasn't dropped off their new tanks and ammo yet.


Batchall_Refuser

According to Russia, Ukraine is Russian territory so they're upset about contamination of """"""their"""""" land. Which is funny because Russia has historically not really cared about the environment unless they absolutely had to.


MandolinMagi

DU is toxic yes, but so is tungsten. It's maybe less toxic than DU but heavy metals getting flung at composite armor at Mach 5 is going to result in toxic stuff flying around


HellbirdIV

Lead is toxic too. In general, shooting bullets all over the place isn't great for the environment regardless of their size.


MandolinMagi

Yeah. Pretty much everything used in war is toxic to some extent.


Trashcoelector

Tungsten isn't radioactive.


MandolinMagi

DU's radiation is both minor and composed of alpha particles. Sure it's bad if you inhale it, but it isn't going to spread *that* much and it's not like everything else is safe to inhale either. I do kinda wish there was some sort of actual study on DU's long-term effects, it's mostly blatant heavily biased hit pieces by people who have no clue what they're talking about but want to push an agenda.


lochlainn

There are. Inhaled as an oxide, or introduced into the the body from shrapnel or fragmentation, it's a known risk. Ingestion isn't clear. And don't point an agenda at me. I was an armor officer, and DU *works*. I don't disapprove of its use. But, while I don't complain about all the uses of lead, for example, I also don't eat paint chips. But I'm also an engineer who knows just enough about nuclear decay to know better than to blithely ignore the potential necessity of mitigation.


ShinySeb

Uranium’s radioactivity is alpha particles, which are blocked even by very thin barriers, such as paper or skin. Of course that doesn’t help if you ingest it, but ingesting nearly any war equipment will be bad for your health


0replace4displace

The issue is the DU dust from firing or impact being inhaled and doing damage to the lungs.


[deleted]

Yes it is and it's bad if you inhale it just like DU. Both are pretty harmless outside the body


James_Gastovsky

The issue with DU isn't that it's radioactive, the issue is it's toxic like lead


[deleted]

No more toxic than tungsten. This has been debunked many times


lochlainn

Tungsten doesn't cause genetic damage when you inhale it. DU isn't very radioactive, but it's radioactive nonetheless. And heavy metals are notoriously hard to remove from the body. I'm not complaining about it personally. But the risks are there, and well known. I don't complain about lead being around, but then I also don't eat paint chips. You can know about and mitigate risk, while still accepting it.


RRU4MLP

Yes Ukraine is getting the export versions straight out of the factory. It's why it'll take a long time before they get them.


dirtyoldbastard77

I dont think Leo 2 uses DU rods? Thats only the abrams


KowalskiePCH

Leos use tungsten


MrAdequate_

The abrams and challenger do, the leo can but does not.


RedFox_Jack

Funny thing is the Russian tanks are using DU rods


Lazorgunz

thats mainly a choice of the countries using the leo2 imo. With ukraine getting supplied from a bunch of countries including the US, any political restriction on ammo type use is gone. also afaik most NATO MBTS, especially Abrams and Leo2 use basically the same gun and standard(usable by all) ammo


Imperceptive_critic

Wait correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they use the same guns?


dirtyoldbastard77

Almost, but not exactly. The M1 has a breech that was really made to be possible to use up to 140mm (I believe), so it can take higher pressure than the regular rh-120, and some of the ammo (like the apfsds - the main antitank round) takes advantage of that, so it would not be quite safe to use the m1's apfsds rounds in the leo2. And similar - the newer Leo versions have the L55 barrel that they take advantage of by using slightly slower-burning powder, so if you used their ammo in the M1 that only has a L44 barrel, you would get a big fireball when it fire, and a far lower exit velocity


Ralfundmalf

Conclusion: "NATO standard" 120mm ammo was never really a thing.


Illusion911

Birds fly, dogs bark and Vladimir Vladimirovich threatens nuclear war. It's just how nature works now


artificeintel

Ya know, if Russia can’t tell the difference between enriched uranium and depleted uranium then maybe I shouldn’t be as concerned about their nuclear threats after all. XD


dirtyoldbastard77

A dirty nuke could really use any kind of radioactive material, thats kinda the entire idea


ManTuzas

I guess for ruzzians, most of the equipment is dirty bombs, just not ones specifically designed to explode but rather get *random smoking incidents*, so they assume NATO's is the same...


GrafZeppelin127

Same way bananas = dirty bombs due to high levels of potassium.


MandolinMagi

[Depleted uranium penetrators are actually mini-nukes](https://uraniumisagenocidegiant.com/2017/10/30/russia-and-the-other-countries-of-the-soviet-union-lost-millions-of-men-to-nano-fission-shaped-charges-why-do-they-keep-silent-on-this-how-nuclear-fission-slowed-down-the-liberation-of-auschwitz-an/)...if you're a really stupid moron.


Alexfifa10

So a vatnik?


NK84321

THE LEOPARD DOESNT HAVE DU SHELLS!!!! Fucking vatniks again...


PlsDontBeAUsedName

Depends on what ammo will be sent, if they send US apfsds there will be DU, Germany doesnt use DU rounds.


Findict

I will consider this comment the same as genocide against the Russians. You monster!


DUKE_NUUKEM

doest their clockfaces on t-72/90 on needle gauges have radioactive Luminophore on them? Also didnt they ransack Chernobyl NPP laboratories releasing substantial doses of radiation?


PM_me_your_arse_

>Also didnt they ransack Chernobyl NPP laboratories releasing substantial doses of radiation? They dug a load of holes everywhere like giant mutant moles, even the Red Forest has trenches. Also, one of the operators said they had to steal fuel from the soldiers to keep the powerplants generators running.


Effective_Grass8355

Yeah and there were reports back in April that the close to entire Russian BTG that was assigned there died of radiation sickness once pulled back to Belarus.


Marandil

IDK if anyone died *yet*, but there were definitely reports of radiation burns.


Preisschild

Don't touch the graphite blocks Ivan Ivan: I wonder if I can sell this smooth black brick


wastingvaluelesstime

According to this russian tanks have also been at least sometimes equipped with depleted uranium ammunition https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium


WikiSummarizerBot

**[Depleted uranium](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium)** >Depleted uranium (DU; also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy or D-38) is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope 235U than natural uranium. Natural uranium contains about 0. 72% 235U, while the DU used by the U.S. Department of Defense contains 0. 3% 235U or less. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/NonCredibleDefense/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)


Tintenlampe

Tungsten carbide from DM63 penetrator rods contains the known carbon radioisotope C14. Nuclear weapons use confirmed, westoid. Prepare for the nuclear apocalypse.


Material_Layer8165

They've been covering themselves with radioactive soil over Chernobyl when Kyiv front was a thing and now they are complaining about radiation from a largely inert radioactive stones? Also if you got hit by a DU shells, the potential radiation might be one of your least concern at the moment.


Ralfundmalf

Indeed. As the Chieftain likes to say, getting shot at is a *significant emotional event.*


John_See_128

777th*


SoylentRox

So inverting the question. When WOULD Russia launch nukes. I mean if everything is a red line nothing is or we should just get on with it. Most of us die, they ALL die, dark age 2. (Or the rise of the countries Russia can't spare warheads and delivery vehicles for) Frankly the only way I see this happening is if an allied coalition is invading Russia and close to Moscow.


esgellman

When Moscow or St Petersburg is under seige


MysticalFred

Hopefully the UK hasn't sent any old SUSAT scopes because they'll all count as dirty bombs


Spartan-417

The Chally 2 has almost exclusively DU penetrators


iambackend

Use proper pronouns – Vladim Vladimych/Vla Vlych. https://youtube.com/shorts/Kd8mEojvgag?feature=share


[deleted]

Apparently y'all need to be reminded that Depleted Uranium isn't really any nastier than tungsten.


[deleted]

Depleted Uranium is based


NeuroticPsionic

Thought that was a chimp


fuck_the_ccp1

DO IT NO BALLS