suppressed subsonic rounds, you are really trading off a lot of long range capabilities and stopping power for sound mitigation.
The money for suppressors and subsonic ammo would be far better spent on decent earpro and individual tac radio that plugs into said ear pro.
It’s all about funding priorities. That is why the PLA gets so much value for their money while the US military wastes huge proportions of their budget on Gucci gear that adds a lot of tactikool but minimal real actual operational advantages.
I agree earpro itself would be a better investment in that context, just pointing out that mass issuing suppressors like what the US does for a lot of their SOF and is considering for the USMC does offer real, practical advantages outside of just looking tacticool or being whisper quiet with subsonic ammo
How much advantage does suppressors bring when you already have earpro though?
Also, adding a suppressor isn’t a penalty free addition, as already mentioned, it comes at the expense of range and stopping power of your rounds.
The main practical advantage is that in urban combat, suppressors makes it a little harder for enemies to hear and respond to gunfire, especially if the shots are fired inside buildings. This is primarily to help specop snatch and kill teams to complete their missions without bringing the whole neighbourhood running.
Useful for the specific mission profile western specops tend to run operationally, but not worth it for general issue.
I quoted something critical here for the sake of clarification. What the US Is looking to do and starting to do for infantry IS issue sound suppressors NOT sub sonic ammo.
@plawolf is correct that using sub sonic ammo with suppression does reduce range and power however he is also wrong in that with conventional ammo it actually increases range and power.
This is as the Sub sonic ammo is the cause of the reduction in range and power not the suppression. The suppressor actually acts like an extended barrel increasing velocity of the round fired. As the back pressure on the round remains higher whilst inside the baffles.
So if this is the case I can already hear “Why in the name of hell would you use suppression
But not sub sonic?
Because the objective isn’t to be James Bond. Only Close quarters teams need that level of quiet even then Hollywood movies are fantasy and few weapons are as quiet even suppressed. The amount of sound reduction for firing an assault rifle with a suppressor is only about 30 dbs. What does subsonic do? It removes the crack of the bullet by reducing the speed of the round. This means that you have overall reduction but it only takes the sound down by another 5 dbs. Not that much. The advantage is that at a distance of a few meters away the bullet might as well be silent because the sound of firing has dropped to a point of dissipation into background. Hence the weapon can be used to remove say a camera or Guard with reduced risk of causing alarm in theory. However in close up its still loud.
Earpro and Suppression vs just Earpro vs Just Suppression. What is the objective?
The main Objective with ear pro is to protect hearing long term. Assault rifles operate around 165 DBs that’s well above the point of hearing lost after long term exposure to noise levels of that kind will make one go deaf.
The aim of a Suppressor is signature moderation. It’s basically a muffler for your gun. Like the muffler on your car it reduces the sound of your car. On average a good suppressor drops the sound about 25 DB without sub sonic taking a gun shot from an assault rifle from 170 dbs down to under 140 dbs. 140 dbs is the threshold of impact sound. Below that point human hearing is safer and sound travels less.
Ear Pro. Hearing protection is generally recommended for occupations that generate over 85 dbs. A regular set of ear plugs will drop the sound of a gun shot by 15 for poor quality to 30 for high quality. Again from about 170dbs for a gun shot to 140 dbs. Take it up and get some high end ear muffs they range from 22 dbs to 30+. Notice a trend?
Ear pro may still be warn with suppression particularly in combat as other equipment makes a ton of noise. For example Howitzers, Tank guns, Explosives, AT Rockets, these are in their own rights kinds aloud.
So if this is the cas as outlined why is the US Infantry experimenting with suppression of super sonic ammo?
First not to replace ear pro. A 155mm howitzer produces 185 dbs. There are suppressors for such weapons believe it or not however they are simply not practical for combat use.
Yup that’s a German Self propelled howitzer using a suppressor.
ATGMs make about 187dbs. And so on. Combat is very loud. Ear pro is needed. If the goal is simply hearing protection for the infantry ear muffs or ear plugs would still be cheaper, easier than suppression.
No there is another Justification for suppression by infantry it’s not noise alone either. It’s light and noise not vs friendlies but adversaries. Especially in low light. As said the effects of a Suppressor change the signature of a weapon. In combat at ranges the super sonic crack of a gun is still present if using full power infantry ammo. However the suppression reduces the mechanisms noise this creates an odd effect. The crack remember is slower than the projectile. It’s harder to figure where you are being attacked from.
In combat against suppressed fire Taliban forces have tried to flee into the gun fire as opposed to away from it. They weren’t attacking they were ambushed and started firing in the wrong direction. They were fighting the echo.
In low light the muzzle flash of a gun shot is usually looked for to attack suppressors contain such so suppression is useful vs NIR Night vision.
Infantry combat happens when two infantry units more or less bump into each other. He whom gets more fire on the other more effectively and preferably sooner wins.
The aim of infantry Suppressors The US DOD is trailing isn’t for trying to turn regular grunts into commandos but to control the signatures of fires. So that when they attack the enemy has a harder time trying to return fire. If they can’t easily tell by the flashes and sound where the shots are coming from an ambushed enemy will be unable to develop an effective counter reaction. They are Dominated.
