30 December 2014

EXACTO round maneuvers to hit target


Gun Digest has an article about some amazing (and deadly) new technology:
For rifle shooters of every stripe, the video above is simply amazing. A bullet is fired at an initial aim point then, mid-flight, changes course to hit the desired target.
No, it’s not an illusion. Instead, it’s a successful test of a project by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to an article in the Daily Mail.
The maneuverable projectiles, known as Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO for short) are the first of their kind, according to DARPA. But, the Department of Defense agency has offered scant details about how .50 caliber EXACTO rounds execute their mid-air adjustments. The Daily Mail, however, offers up one possibility:
DARPA has not released precise details of how its bullet moves in mid-air, but this is one way in which the technology could work:
A sniper working at extreme range shines a laser onto the target. An optical sensor on the bullet detects the light from the laser to identify where the target is. Once fired, actuators inside the four-inch-long bullet receive data from the optical sensor to guide it to the correct location. Small fins are used to change the bullet’s trajectory, and the bullet can correct its movements thirty times a second. These changes are in response to movements of the laser, which the sniper uses to continually track and light up the target.
While it might be a first for small arms, the EXACTO round is not the first maneuverable projectile cooked up. Presently, the American, Swedish, and Canadian militaries all use M982 Excalibur, a navigable artillery shell.
The application of the new EXACTO round, if it ever finds its way to the battlefield, is fairly obvious, according to DARPA: ‘For military snipers, acquiring moving targets in unfavorable conditions, such as the high winds and dusty terrain commonly found in Afghanistan, is extremely challenging with current technology. It is critical that snipers be able to engage targets faster, and with better accuracy, since any shot that doesn’t hit a target also risks the safety of troops by indicating their presence and potentially exposing their location.’
Given the long shots made by American, Canadian, and British snipers in the recent conflict in Afghanistan using conventional gear, the EXACTO could potentially be a potent leg up.
Rico says things just got more dangerous for the bad guys... (And is there a copyright lawsuit by the X-ACTO company in the offing?)

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