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2 Generic Types of Conventional Ammunition James Bevan and Adrian Wilkinson Overview The typology of ammunition is a complex issue due to the wide range of am- munition types now available. For example, a North Atlantic Treaty Organi- zation (NATO) armoured division is likely to stock over 1,600 different types of ammunition, which range from small items, such as ‘igniter safety fuse electric’ (ISFE), to much larger items such as free-?ight rockets (FFRs) for mul- tiple launch rocket systems (MLRSs). There are many different and often con- tradictory ways of categorizing ammunition types. This chapter is therefore designed only for convenience in order to pro- vide non-specialists with an overview of the more signi?cant ammunition systems. It also provides a rough presentation of the potential each variety can pose when poorly managed or secured, including the risk of instability or mishandling leading to explosion (CHAPTER 13); the facility with which it can be diverted from national stockpiles (CHAPTER 15); and its utility in the construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) (CHAPTER 14). Artillery Artillery includes weapons and ammunition that are in the range of 75 mm calibre and above (some mortars also fall within this calibre range, and al- though not strictly classi?ed as artillery, have been included here for conven- ience). Artillery is designed to deliver primarily indirect ?re and includes the types discussed below. Because artillery ammunition is large in calibre, it 22 Conventional Ammunition in Surplus often contains signi?cant amounts of explosive and incendiary material, which may become unstable when inadequately managed (CHAPTER 6). Mortars over 100 mm in calibre1 Mortar ‘bombs’ are loaded with various explosive and non-explosive sub- stances, including high explosive (HE), HE fragmentary, HE armour-pierc- ing, and smoke and illuminating material (Ness and Williams, 2006, pp. 481– 524). They range