In Delta Force Operations, penetration is decided by the gap between your ammo level and the target’s armour level, not by the gun. Match the level and the shot does full damage; one level under drops it to roughly half, two under to a quarter, three or more leaves 5–10% — a wasted magazine in most fights.
The full table, armour across and ammo down: level 1 ammo gets 50% through level 1 armour and 25/10/5/5/5% through the rest. Level 2 runs 75/50/25/10/5/5. Level 3 runs 90/75/50/25/10/5. Level 4 runs 100/90/75/50/25/10. Level 5 runs 100/100/90/75/50/25, and level 6 runs 100/100/100/90/75/50. Anything at or above the armour level is a clean hit.
The price ladder repeats in every calibre. Tier 1 and 2 rounds cost next to nothing per round, general-purpose tier 3 sits at 300–500, tier 4 at 1,500–2,000 and tier 5 at 4,500–6,000. 5.56 goes RRLP → FMJ → M855 → M855A1 → M995; 5.45 goes LP → T45M → PS → BP → AP; 7.62×39 goes PRS → T → PS → BT → BS; 7.62×51 jumps straight from M80 at tier 4 to M62 at tier 5.
Carry one tier above the armour you expect to meet. Against unarmoured targets a cheap round — RIP for flesh — saves credits and kills just as fast, while nothing under tier 5 is worth a slot against tier 5 and 6 plates. Damage also falls off with range, so a high-penetration round at distance still loses bite.
Delta Coins and their tier prices are on our Delta Force page. If you are earning them in-game instead, budget for ammo before anything else: a raid’s ammo bill usually costs more than the kit it goes into.
Source: Delta Force Operations ammo data, October 2026.