7.62×37mm Musang

7.62×37mm Musang
7.62×37mm Musang cartridges on display
Place of origin	Philippines
Service history
In service	Preproduction prototypes only
Used by	Philippines
Production history
Designer	Government Arsenal
Manufacturer	Government Arsenal
Produced	2012
Specifications
Parent case	5.56×45mm NATO
Case type	Bottlenecked

The 7.62×37mm Musang is an assault rifle cartridge introduced in 2012 developed and manufactured in the Philippines by the Government Arsenal for use by the military in special operations and close quarter battle.^[1] The round's case is derived from the 5.56×45mm NATO, but necked-up to accept a 250 grain bullet intended for subsonic speeds and loaded with handgun-grade propellants.

The 7.62×37mm Musang round is unrelated to the Soviet 7.62×39mm M43-round.

History

The new cartridge was developed based on previous lessons learned from the development of the Night Fighting Weapon System.^[2] The cartridge is intended to offer improved lethality over 9mm and 5.56mm rounds in subsonic loads for use in CQB and suppressed weapons.^[3]

Development

Much like the 300 AAC Blackout, the Musang cartridge can be loaded into STANAG magazines (with 25 rounds able to fit into a standard 30-round M16 magazine) and requires only a barrel change to be used on an AR-15 platform. The cartridge is used on the Government Arsenal's 10-inch barreled Musang PDW, which is based on the M4/M16 platform.^[3]

See also

• 9×39mm
• 300 AAC Blackout (7.62×35mm)

References

1. "G.A. Bulletin October 2012" (PDF file). Official website of the Government Arsenal. Government Arsenal. p. 6. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
2. http://www.firearmstalk.com/entries/The-New-Musang-AR-round.html
3. Kathleen Reotutar (June 2014). "G.A. Bullet-in June 2014" (PDF file). Official website of the Government Arsenal. Government Arsenal. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 21 September 2014.