DoD looking for smart bullets

[Floyd]

Was reading some links from Digg when I found this gem.

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/what-if-a-snipe.html

Can the best engineers come up with a .50 cal bullet that can be guided after leaving the barrel? The government seems to have enough tax money to throw at the problem.

Taking bets on a possible solution that costs $100,000 per gun and $50 a round.  

[Anima_Raptor]

The idea for a guided round has actually been out for awhile.. i remember watching gun programs on the discovery channel, talking about how they wanted to make a fin stabilized round with tiny motors that would allow the head of the bullet to point itself in different directions, guided by a spotter's laser rangefinder.

But its nice that they're putting funding into it again. Granted there is a sniper rifle that's been built to work in tangent with a computer to calculate all that math jazz for super long distance shots, but to see the development of a guided bullet would be swet.  

[Fresnel]

Anima_Raptor

Granted there is a sniper rifle that's been built to work in tangent with a computer to calculate all that math jazz for super long distance shots, but to see the development of a guided bullet would be swet.

I think it's the other way around, it's a scope/"targeting system" that takes all the atmospheric and range s**t into account for the Barrett .50, with a given powder load and bullet weight.

I actually knew a guy working on a project to create .223 (or so I assumed, I don't know if he ever specified) rounds which airburst at a pre-set distance. That way if the target moves out of the way of a long-distance shot, the bullet detonates where he WAS, and hopefully peppers him with shrapnel. You can also tell it to explode a little before the set distance, so you can aim at a wall behind some sort of lower cover and pelt the guy with exploded bullet bits. That was a few years back though, so I assume it's either going really, really slowly or funding was cut.  

[Barru]

... if they make such a thing they're going to drop some of the sniper's training?

... what are you ******** retarded?
What about the eventuality that, oh I don't know, the ******** thing doesn't work in the field or that something goes wrong?  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

Barru

... if they make such a thing they're going to drop some of the sniper's training?

... what are you ******** retarded?
What about the eventuality that, oh I don't know, the ******** thing doesn't work in the field or that something goes wrong?

I highly doubt it would completely replace snipers, simply due to the cost of such a device. The CROWS system was supposed to replace a man on a turret, but it's too expensive, so they still have troops on a .50 cal. on the back of the Humvee. It probably would be a good area-denial weapon, though, but instead of making it automated, make it into a remote-controlled sniper weapon.  

[Barru]

Requiem6661

Barru

... if they make such a thing they're going to drop some of the sniper's training?

... what are you ******** retarded?
What about the eventuality that, oh I don't know, the ******** thing doesn't work in the field or that something goes wrong?

I highly doubt it would completely replace snipers, simply due to the cost of such a device. The CROWS system was supposed to replace a man on a turret, but it's too expensive, so they still have troops on a .50 cal. on the back of the Humvee. It probably would be a good area-denial weapon, though, but instead of making it automated, make it into a remote-controlled sniper weapon.

Now that I could see it being used as.
But you're coupling extremely expensive equipment with... extremely expensive RC cars.  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

Barru

Requiem6661

Barru

... if they make such a thing they're going to drop some of the sniper's training?

... what are you ******** retarded?
What about the eventuality that, oh I don't know, the ******** thing doesn't work in the field or that something goes wrong?

I highly doubt it would completely replace snipers, simply due to the cost of such a device. The CROWS system was supposed to replace a man on a turret, but it's too expensive, so they still have troops on a .50 cal. on the back of the Humvee. It probably would be a good area-denial weapon, though, but instead of making it automated, make it into a remote-controlled sniper weapon.

Now that I could see it being used as.
But you're coupling extremely expensive equipment with... extremely expensive RC cars.

Yea. It would probably be better as an area-defense weapon, like around embassies. Think about it; an automated Barret M107 with a belt-feed (if it's possible) and armor-piercing bullets. You could stop anything short of an APC or tank; just blow out the engine.