Ammuntion Color Coding

Color	Interpretation
Yellow	Indicates the presence of high explosives
Brown	Identifies low explosive items or components, or indicates the presence of a low explosive
Gray	Identifies ammunition that contains irritant, incapacitating, or toxic agents when used as an overall body color except underwater ordnance
Gray with dark red band	Indicates the ammunition contains an irritant (riot control) agent
Gray with dark green band	Indicates the ammunition contains a toxic agent other than binary agents
Gray with broken dark green band	Indicates the ammunition contains a binary nerve agent
Gray with violet band	Identifies ammunition with an incapacitating agent
Black	Identifies armor-defeating ammunition, except on underwater ordnance, dummy hand grenades, and when used for lettering or marking
Silver/aluminum	Identifies countermeasures ammunition
Light green	Identifies screening or marking smoke ammunition
Light red	Identifies incendiary ammunition or indicates the presence of highly flammable material for producing damage by fire
White	Identifies illuminating ammunition or ammunition producing a colored light; exceptions are underwater ordnance, guided missiles, dispensers, and rocket launchers and when used for lettering or marking
Light blue	Identifies ammunition used for practice
Bronze, gold, and brass	Identifies dummy/drill/inert ammunition not for firing but only used for handling, loading, assembly and testing, training, and display. Some dummy hand grenades may be painted black

1.		The colors gray, black, white, or green on underwater ordnance, such as mines and torpedoes, and the color white on guided missiles, dispensers, or rocket launchers.
2.		The colors black and white when used for lettering or special marking
3.		Unpainted or natural color
4.		Colors specifically applied to identify the color produced by smoke ammunition or pyrotechnics