Final answer:
Service projectiles are classified by their tactical purpose into penetrating, fragmenting, and explosive types. Penetrating projectiles focus on breaching armor, fragmenting projectiles disperse damaging fragments, and explosive projectiles cause destruction through blasts. Non-lethal alternatives aim to incapacitate rather than kill.
Step-by-step explanation:
Service projectiles are classified by their tactical purpose into various types. The types of service projectiles commonly recognized are penetrating, fragmenting, and explosive projectiles.
Penetrating projectiles are designed to breach armor or structures using kinetic energy, often having a sharp point and a hardened tip to concentrate the force of impact. Fragmenting projectiles are intended to break apart upon impact or in the air, dispersing fragments that cause damage over a wider area.
The third classification is exploding projectiles, which are designed to detonate upon impact or after a certain time, releasing energy and causing destruction through blast and/or fragmentation. Armor-piercing projectiles are a subset of penetrating projectiles that are specifically designed to pass through armor, and they often use materials like depleted uranium for their high density and ability to maintain integrity under extreme pressure.
Non-lethal projectiles, on the other hand, aim to incapacitate rather than kill, employing less harmful means to subdue individuals, such as those engaged in civil disturbances.