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Smart bullets to make snipers even more lethal
Those three Navy SEAL snipers who ended the hostage crisis on the high seas yesterday are amazing. Picking off two pirates who briefly poked their heads out of a small covered lifeboat, and simultaneously shooting a third pirate through the boat's tiny window? At dusk using night vision? From a heaving, tilting and rolling ship, aiming at pirates who were also on a bobbing boat? Seems impossible.
Even more remarkable feats will be possible when they get their new laser-guided bullets, capable of changing course in mid-air. Called EXACTO (EXtreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance), the $22 million smart bullet tech senses air currents and moving targets, adjusting a bullet's flight so it can stay exactly on course. Darpa, inventors of GPS and lots more, says this gee-whiz technology will "provide a dramatic new capability to the U.S. military."
Not cool enough? The Darpa researchers are also working on smart bullets guided by frickin' lasers and aimed by scopes that use heat haze to amplify vision from distances of over a mile away. That makes the snipers completely invisible to their targets — they'll never know what hit them. Just don't point that thing at me, seaman.
Via Danger Room
By Gumbercules at 6:02 PM ON 04/13/09
Ah, humans - always coming up with better ways to kill each other.
By IsoTek at 5:13 AM ON 04/14/09
Don't worry Gumbercules, Obama will probably kill it along with the majority of "better ways to kill each other" weapons systems so that we can be poorly defended enough to rely on European nations that don't want to get their hands dirty if it means fighting bad guys.
By vizjac at 11:24 AM ON 04/14/09
IsoTek, Obama is cutting some programs, and you must have heard those people whining on fox news. But his budget is 50 billion more than Bush's was. Get your facts straight.
By nicholasjh1 at 1:23 PM ON 04/14/09
yeah my actual concern is that he increased the budget, but I do like how he changed the budget for more strategic defense initiatives, instead of trying to fight the same war.
By IsoTek at 2:34 AM ON 04/15/09
Vizjac did you hear that this wouldn't be one of the programs cut, because I didn't so where is your source of confirmation? Regardless of where I heard it, if you don't have any concrete proof then maybe you shouldn't be so quick to attack me or any news outlet you happen to be biased against. Oh and far as facts go, the fact of the matter is even what he wants to cut may not actually get cut if Congress decides differently. Should have mentioned that when you were being such a shoot your mouth off know it all.
By guy 12 at 11:01 PM ON 04/26/09
um i think this is a great step in over all technology i mean the less amount of lives that can be taken in a TERRORIST event the better or we may just kill each other but its still good tech and please have your little obama spat somwhere else little immature
By X15 at 9:42 PM ON 05/22/09
The technological development of US ARMY is increasingly more amazing.
And it´s happy me exceedingly that USA has those "resources",by good of United States and also the Countries that loves the democracy and the freedom.
Congratulations for the investigators of DARPA.
By snipers at 7:09 AM ON 06/01/09
listen i need information on lethal snipers
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