Smart bullets?

[Marx-ism's]

Not sure what to make of this?     Is the DoD looking for some high tech SMART BULLET? 

Note to self... I do NOT want to know what these bullets are going to cost when they finally get sourced... 

DOD wants bullet that can change direction after being fired
By Matthew M. Burke
Stars and Stripes
Published: December 15, 2014

New .50­caliber bullets that can change direction after they have been fired could soon make U.S. military snipers more deadly.

The EXACTO program — or Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance — is being developed by California’s Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC at
the behest of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to a DARPA video posted on YouTube.

 “The objective of the EXACTO program is to revolutionize rifle accuracy and range by developing the first ever guided small­ caliber bullet,” DARPA officials said in a July statement accompanying the video. “The EXACTO .50­ caliber round and optical sighting technology expects to greatly extend the day and nighttime range over current state­of­the­art sniper systems.”

  The specially designed ammunition can change direction in midair.  How that is done remains a tightly held secret. The Defense Department and its related agencies declined to comment.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/dod-wants-bullet-that-can-change-direction-after-being-fired-1.319419

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]

[870policemag]

Hmmm. I've always thought that the .50 BMG was used primarily as a anti-material round and not a anti-personnel round out of a rifle. I wonder if they'll shoot it out of the McMillian TAC 50 or Barrett M82A1. I also wonder how far those corrections can be made. What wrong just making a "smart" soldier?

Very interesting. 

[freeman1685]

Yeah, it is.  It's a violation of the Geneva Convention to use a .50 cal. as an anti-personnel round.  But if someone happens to be standing in front of that Deuce and a half 

[Thernlund]

Yeah, it is.  It's a violation of the Geneva Convention to use a .50 cal. as an anti-personnel round.  But if someone happens to be standing in front of that Deuce and a half 

Who told you that?   

http://www.stripes.com/blogs/the-rumor-doctor/the-rumor-doctor-1.104348/can-you-use-the-50-caliber-on-human-targets-1.134278

In truth, neither the 1949 Geneva Conventions nor other laws governing the conduct of war forbid U.S. troops from using the weapon against enemy fighters, said Gary D. Solis, an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University.

-T.

[freeman1685]

My NCOs, and Officers.  I was told that the Ma Deuce was strictly an anti-material/equipment weapon.  And that It was a violation of the Geneva Convention to use it against personnel.  The reason given was that it was inhumane.

I was in no position to argue.  I figured that they knew what they were talking about.

[freeman1685]

Here's an interesting read on the subject:  http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/RC-Weapons.pdf

[Thernlund]

There are a ridiculous number of Conventions and Protocols governing international war.  This is about the best list I could find within the amount of time I felt like devoting to it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_war

At the end of the day, the international laws of war seem to be mostly concerned with civilians who are not fighting or combatants who are no longer able to fight (prisoners, sick, wounded).  It's apparent to me that how active combatants kill each other isn't a major concern beyond making sure that their methods cause as little collateral damage as possible.


How this translates to the original topic would seem to be that a .50 BMG bullet that is partially guided would be just fine under international law as long as it's not indiscriminate (<-- that word appears a LOT in int'l law, and seems to be about the only concern where weapons are mentioned).


-T.

[Kronos]

I also wonder how far those corrections can be made.

I would imagine that all depends on the velocity of the round and distance of target. It doesn't seem like any of the rounds they've publicized have any sort of stabilizing fins or additional sources of projection. If the tech only relies on adjusting COG and fulcrum mid-air to redirect the energy the round already has from being fired, I don't think the changes can be that drastic... But I would like to see rounds that can maneuver around obstacles to hit their targets.

What wrong just making a "smart" soldier?

They'd still be human.

I'm still in the process of watching this, but so far it seems interesting. I wonder how similar it is to the EXACTO round and its competitor from Sandia Nat'l Labs...

[Thernlund]

My expectation is that it would just be a bullet containing a gyroscope that could make minor adjustments to its trajectory based on a target being painted with a laser by a spotter.  Any change in trajectory couldn't be more than a few yards at 1000.  So you'd still need a shooter that could get pretty close at great distance, and a spotter that can hold a laser on the target.

This sort of system is already in use by ground troops in contact with UAV pilots.  The soldier on the ground paints the target with a laser and holds, then the UAV pilot lets a rocket go in the right direction which then zeros in on the 'lased' target.

The trick is miniaturizing the whole thing to fit into a projectile that can be fired from a .50-caliber rifle.


-T.

[Kronos]

My expectation is that it would just be a bullet containing a gyroscope that could make minor adjustments to it's trajectory based on a target being painted with a laser by a spotter.

That's what the above video's system seems to be (still watching it), except the "spotter" is replaced by additional hardware on the shooter's scope.

From EXACTO's Wiki page:

The DARPA EXACTO program is facing competition from Sandia National Laboratories ... [and] ... uses different methods than Sandia's guided round. It relies on remote-guidance tied to the optics, which may be more reliable than needing to paint the target with a laser that can be detected, diffused, or blocked. EXACTO models on existing .50 BMG ammunition and rifles instead of needing new hardware.

 

[Thernlund]

If you mean the Tracking Point system, that's not technically laser guided as far as I know.  The way I understand it is that you mark the target in the scope which then tracks that spot and then pulls the trigger for you when you put the crosshairs on the exact spot you marked.  It doesn't alter the trajectory of the bullet mid-flight.


-T.

[Kronos]

If you mean the Tracking Point system, that's not technically laser guided as far as I know.  The way I understand it is that you mark the target in the scope which then tracks that spot and then pulls the trigger for you when you put the crosshairs on the exact spot you marked.  It doesn't alter the trajectory of the bullet mid-flight.

Ah, I see. Then the video I posted was a completely different concept than the EXACTO program.

[car-ram-rod]

Nowadays everyone is running jammers so I wonder if that'd effect anything.

Also laws of war are usually brought up by the ppl that never leave te FOB or POGS.

[coelacanth]

See, I already have a problem with bullets that change direction on the way to the target.  Now matter how much I try, those little buggers always seem to get distracted by the wind or gravity or something and end up missing where I put the crosshairs.     If the bright folks at DoD can figure out some way to make that predictable they may be on to something.   

[steve2md]

See, I already have a problem with bullets that change direction on the way to the target.  Now matter how much I try, those little buggers always seem to get distracted by the wind or gravity or something and end up missing where I put the crosshairs.     If the bright folks at DoD can figure out some way to make that predictable they may be on to something.   

[ItWasntMe]

See, I already have a problem with bullets that change direction [...] 

[martin]

Here is link on 50 cal tracking bullets for drones - see FUTURISTIC WEAPON at bottom of short article Third Armaments Revolution:
http://www.w54.biz/showthread.php?3024-Third-Armaments-Revolution-Set-to-Unfold

[DezrtRat]

This is totally within the realm of possibility.  Look at computers, which started as room-sized machines that can now be as small as you can imagine.  Now take the idea of miniaturizing a device and apply it to something like a Sidewinder air-to-air heat-seeking missile or other radar/laser-guided munitions and the only obstacle is the force needed to develop enough energy to allow for the drag that occurs during the projectile's maneuvers.  Thus, big bullets with lots of umf.  This technology already exists in artillery rounds; why not smaller projectiles that can be fired from a .50 cal. or even smaller?

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]