Unit of Fire

a definite quantity of ammunition prescribed for one piece of armament (rifle, submachine gun, machine gun, mortar, cannon, launcher), or for a combat vehicle (tank, an airplane, and so on).

In the planning of the material and technical supplies of combat (or of an operation), the unit of fire serves as a unit of supply for the determination of the ammunition needs of troops to carry out a specific combat mission. The size of the unit of fire is determined by the combat experience of the troops, the function and combat characteristics of the weapon, the availability of transportation to move the ammunition, the overall dimensions of the storage space for ammunition inside combat vehicles, the vehicles’ carrying capacity, and other considerations. The unit of fire of a subunit, of a unit (or a ship), or of a large unit amounts to all the usable armament.