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Wartime game-changer: The four-inch-long bullet has a sensor that activates tiny fins to steer it to its target
A tiny LED attached to a self-guided bullet at Sandia National Laboratories shows a bright path during a nighttime field test that proved the battery and electronics could survive the bullet's launch
Ready, fire, aim! U.S. Army's new self-steering bullet comes with tiny fins that guide it to its target
A bullet that can steer itself has been developed by national security researchers for widespread use by the army.US military researchers have developed the technology that will see regular army soldiers shooting with the accuracy of snipers.In fact the four-inch-long, dart-like bullet is so effective that it can hit a target, guided by a laser, two kilometers away.
Wartime game-changer: The four-inch-long bullet has a sensor that activates tiny fins to steer it to its target.It works through an optical sensor in the nose of the bullet which detects a laser beam on a target.The sensor then sends information to guidance and control electronics that uses an algorithm to calculate direction.The bullet then steers itself, via tiny fins, to the target.The game-changing ammunition was designed by Sandia – the US government arm which develops science technologies to improve national security.'This is intended for Private Snuffy, not for a highly trained Special Forces guy,' developer Red Jones told The Register.
'We're making it simple for everyone to use.' Sandia is now seeking a private company partner to finish testing and produce the bullet: 'We have a very promising technology to guide small projectiles that could be fully developed inexpensively and rapidly,' said Jones who hunts in his spare time.Unlike most bullets which have grooves or rifling to enable them to spin and fly straight, the new design is smooth-bore.
To enable a bullet to turn in flight toward a target and to simplify the design, the spin had to go, Jones said.Now it flies straight both because it is aerodynamically stable and the tiny fins enable it to fly without spin, just as a dart does, he said.While engineering issues remain, computer modelling has shown the new design could prove very accurate.Using a computer simulation, an unguided bullet could miss a target one kilometer away by 9.8 yards whereas the guided bullet was only off by 8 inches.
With regular gunpowder, the bullet can travel up to 2,400 feet per second.With customised gunpowder, researchers are sure this could be faster. 'We're confident in our science base and we're confident the engineering-technology base is there to solve the problems,' Jones said.
