The SAS are being issued with new ammunition designed to kill the enemy outright after they condemned a ‘shoot-to-wound’ policy that put their lives at risk.The elite troops will now use bigger, heavier rounds to overcome Islamic insurgents who are determined to fight to the death. The bullets upgrade – and a new range of rifles designed to fire them – were recommended in a top-secret report on SAS operations in Afghanistan. It called for a return to a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy and for heavier rounds to be issued to troops. The report’s authors described bloody clashes with Taliban jihadists who managed to ignore their bullet wounds and carry on shooting. On target: US Navy Seals use the powerful SCAR-H rifle which are designed to kill the enemy outright The rounds currently issued as standard to SAS troops for their rifles are 5.56 mm calibre. In future, the troopers will be given 7.62 mm rounds – which are almost twice as heavy and designed to kill with a single shot.

Last night, a regiment insider said: ‘The shoot-to-wound policy was based on the assumption that once he was wounded an enemy combatant would stop fighting, and so would his comrades to give him first aid. ‘But this backfired against the Taliban. The 5.56 mm rounds did not take a big enough chunk out of them, allowing fanatical insurgents to keep on fighting despite their wounds. As a result, more SAS soldiers were shot and badly wounded. ‘The need for a heavier round was highlighted in the regiment’s post-Afghanistan report. Tests are now taking place on at least three rifles specially designed to fire the 7.62 mm rounds. ‘The difference in killing power between 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm is startling – the heavier rounds pack so much more of a punch.’Rifles being tested at the SAS’s ranges in Hereford include the US-made Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (Heavy) Mk17 – known as the SCAR-H. It fires 7.62 mm rounds from a newly designed magazine that holds 20 rounds.

Accurate: Prince Harry with his SA80 rifle in Afghanistan Powerful: The SCAR-H rifle fires 7.62mm rounds from a newly designed magazine that holds 20 rounds Different length barrels are available for close-quarters battle and for longer-range engagements. The rifle is already being used by United States Special Forces units, including US Navy Seals, who participated in the mission to eliminate Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.The best-performing rifle of those being assessed by the SAS will replace the regiment’s current standard issue weapon – the Canadian-manufactured Diemaco C8, which fires a 5.56 mm round and uses the standard Nato 30-round magazine. hoodies in riyadhAccording to military experts, the C8 is a versatile weapon that can be fitted with a variety of scopes and aiming devices.lmss hoodie

Other attachments include an underslung 40 mm grenade launcher.The problem of 5.56 mm rounds lacking killing power in firefights is worse because the Taliban use 7.62 mm rounds in their AK-47 Kalashnikovs and Russian sniper rifles. The SAS’s report said the 7.62 mm rounds flew farther and with greater accuracy – giving the enemy a distinct advantage, especially in long-range engagements.odb hoodie The bullets upgrade was recommended in a report on SAS (badge pictured) operations in Afghanistanaion hoodie The only advantage to the 5.56 mm rounds is that, given their lighter weight, soldiers can carry more of them. cymru hoodiesManufactured by BAE Systems in Crewe, they have a steel tip and core. olaf hoodie canada

The bullets are also lead-free to reduce environmental pollution. BAE has a £2 billion contract with the Ministry of Defence to produce these ‘ethical rounds’.Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army commander, said: ‘The 7.62 mm round is a good, meaty bullet and will drop your enemy with a single hit. zalando hoodies herenThe 5.56 mm cannot compete with it for stopping power and, according to many soldiers, the round has fallen short in Iraq and Afghanistan.‘Insurgents who would have been fatally wounded by a 7.62 mm have been able to continue fighting and endanger the lives of our soldiers. ‘This is a positive step and I hope other regiments give consideration to returning to 7.62 mm rounds in the infantryman’s standard rifle. It could save lives and win battles.’The MoD said: ‘Our troops in Afghanistan use a variety of highly effective weapons that fire a range of ammunition. They primarily use 5.56 mm rounds fired from the world-class SA80 A2 assault rifle and these have great power and accuracy.‘

For longer-range firefights, troops can use the general purpose machine gun, grenade machine gun, light machine gun and the 7.62 mm longer-range sharpshooter rifle.’l SAILORS on ships and submarines are to be breathalysed to curb a culture of ‘binge drinking’. The move follows the fatal shooting  of Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36, on nuclear submarine HMS Astute in 2011 by drunk Able Seaman Ryan Donovan.Tom Clancy’s The Division released its beta preview last week for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, giving gamers a taste of what has been hyped as a role-playing game to dethrone the popular Destiny. Thanks to the high demand, Ubisoft, the developers for The Division, extended the availability of the preview until Tuesday. Newsweek got its hands on The Division over the weekend. In short: It’s definitely promising, thanks in particular to great visuals that makes apocalyptic New York City seem nearly real. Here, we break down parts of the short beta preview into what we did and we didn’t like.

And I mean this in the nicest way possible. The premise of The Division is that New York City is stricken with a smallpox epidemic during Black Friday, causing the entire city to descend into chaos. The players are supposed to go into the “dark zone” and restore order into the city. The upscale Chelsea neighborhood looks like all hell broke loose. Madison Square Garden is converted to a field hospital and has been taken by the “hostiles.” The James A. Farley Post Office, which is across the street from the Garden, is the scene of a huge shootout in the single-player mode, and it is really fun. When the snow starts to fall on New York City, it feels both romantic and eerie at the same time. After finishing the beta preview, I immediately hopped onto another video game for another couple of hours. The game left a fleeting impression aside from the dystopian New York City visuals. The gameplay was standard, and the shootouts blended together into a procession of a seemingly invincible protagonists gunning down a line of enemies.

The game's Skills Tree feature sounds promising in its potential to customize the player with new medical, tech and “security power boots.” It may spice up the game, especially in multiplayer. But in beta, the range of these skills was limited to one per player, which left me forgetting I can use them to bail myself out of some tough situations. The beta preview obviously offers a small glimpse into the entire storyline, but I enjoyed most of the plot so far. Since this is a role-playing game, there are missions along the way for players to finish. One of the best was rescuing a doctor held on hostage in the Madison Square Garden field hospital. Since New York City has collapsed due to an epidemic, doctors are worth their weight in gold, and one senses that something significant is on the line in the rescue mission. More of that, please, Ubisoft. In the same Madison Square Garden rescue mission, the hostage-takers bombarded me with gas canisters to trap me into a corner. At one point, I retreated and found a place to hide, and I just gunned down the hostiles one by one because they, for some reason, were bull-rushing toward me instead of taking position in a comfortable distance away.

It was a sad ending to a tense, well-built situation. One of the best parts about The Division is that it tries to depict the pure chaos in a lawless metropolis. Looting between players and hostiles and between players and players are both possible. Alliances and sticking together in packs may be needed in multiplayer to survive through the winter, but it also can create backstabbing and looting from people you trusted. The hostiles are hooded thugs with shotguns and tear gas canisters who are supposedly agents of chaos. But when I was playing the beta preview, I had no idea why I was fighting them. What were their motivations to loot and kill? Why did I have to shoot them? All I know is that a surprising number of them are named Alex. After the umpteenth hostile I killed, the whole situation started to rub me the wrong way—and it seems I am not the only one. My character is brought to Manhattan by the U.S. government to bring order to a city filled with hooded vandals who may or may not be looting to survive the smallpox and the cold.