A soldier of the Royal Gurkha Rifles carrying belts of ammunition, Helmand, 2006

Photograph, Afghanistan (2001-), 2006.

The ammunition belt is probably for the L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun. The red-tipped rounds are tracer ammunition. These have a small pyrotechnic charge in their base which is ignited upon firing. They burn brightly and allow the shooter to follow the bullets trajectory relative to the target in order to make corrections to his aim.

From a DVD associated with D (TAMANDU) Company Royal Gurkha Rifles, Operation HERRICK, Helmand Province, Afghanistan (2001-), 2006.