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EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

darpa.mil

51–60 of 158 posts

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#51
Here is a decent overview of the different approaches to the problem ranging from consumer (TrackingPoint) to military (DARPA/Sandia): http://www.army-technology.com/features/featurelock-and-laun...

The TrackingPoint system is pretty awesome especially since it's tech which is available today and has some pretty neat applications such aiming through another device: http://www.military.com/video/guns/rifles/trackingpoint-shot...

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#52

I wonder what each bullet will cost once production starts? I sometimes think about the origins of the second amendment and if it's intent was to empower citizens against a potentially oppressive government then it has failed. US military technology might as well be black magic. What can a "well regulated militia" do against smart bullets, M1 Abrams, Apache helicopters, etc? Thank goodness we are kept fat and happy.

The greater the asymmetry of technology, the greater the PR problem. PR problems are infectious, but they require a sympathetic protagonist. A pre-emptive solution is to fake unsympathetic protagonists that can be crushed ruthlessly to dissuade contagion. Parse wisely.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/antz/

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#53
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the aims of this program was to essentially give any 18 year old kid the tool set to perform like a highly trained sniper. There will still be a need for marksmanship training but this enables the minimum standard of marksmanship for its user to be akin to an expert. Ballistics computation is complicated but this simplifies it to a more straight-forward "point and shoot" approach that almost anyone can underst…

Seems like a silly thing to focus on. Learning to shoot accurately is by far the easiest part of becoming a sniper.

That may be true, but the harder parts about being a sniper get a lot easier if you're as accurate from a mile as today's snipers are from 200M.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#54

I wonder what each bullet will cost once production starts? I sometimes think about the origins of the second amendment and if it's intent was to empower citizens against a potentially oppressive government then it has failed. US military technology might as well be black magic. What can a "well regulated militia" do against smart bullets, M1 Abrams, Apache helicopters, etc? Thank goodness we are kept fat and happy.

I believe you mean "second." Additionally, vastly superior technology doesn't necessarily outweigh other factors. It certainly makes a huge difference but history is littered with counterexamples.

Yes I did, thank you. The second amendment is the fourth article of the Bill of Rights.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#55

I wonder what each bullet will cost once production starts? I sometimes think about the origins of the second amendment and if it's intent was to empower citizens against a potentially oppressive government then it has failed. US military technology might as well be black magic. What can a "well regulated militia" do against smart bullets, M1 Abrams, Apache helicopters, etc? Thank goodness we are kept fat and happy.

> Thank goodness we are kept fat and happy. This concept is actually called "bread and circus", and was originally applied by mid-roman emperors to better control the populace and keep political satisfaction up. I'm kinda disappointed that the wikipedia article doesn't go into detail about this because it played a huge part in maintaining control of the empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses

Junk food and reality shows/professional sports nowadays.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#56
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the aims of this program was to essentially give any 18 year old kid the tool set to perform like a highly trained sniper. There will still be a need for marksmanship training but this enables the minimum standard of marksmanship for its user to be akin to an expert. Ballistics computation is complicated but this simplifies it to a more straight-forward "point and shoot" approach that almost anyone can underst…

Seems like a silly thing to focus on. Learning to shoot accurately is by far the easiest part of becoming a sniper.

Think bigger: a drone at 2000 ft having to deal with the cross-wind from different altitudes.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#57

I wonder what each bullet will cost once production starts? I sometimes think about the origins of the second amendment and if it's intent was to empower citizens against a potentially oppressive government then it has failed. US military technology might as well be black magic. What can a "well regulated militia" do against smart bullets, M1 Abrams, Apache helicopters, etc? Thank goodness we are kept fat and happy.

We should probably be more worried about the non-lethal weapons that can be used to effect control and compliance — like the mobility denial and active denial systems.

At least firehoses, dogs, and guns have a chance of illiciting sympathy from onlookers (e.g. the international community). Protesters on a big slip-n-slide will probably just end up on /r/funny.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#58
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It says "optical guidance system" in the article. I suspect that the sniper needs to light up the target with a laser sight, and there's a small computer and microchip that adjusts the form of the bullet (per other commenter's description here) so that the laser dot is always directly ahead. The article also says it's designed to compensate for "weather, wind, or target movement", so my assumption is that the sniper…

"It says "optical guidance system" in the article." It doesn't make much sense that if you were developing an advanced weapons system that, other than to get out disinformation, it would be a good thing to tell exactly what you are doing in any detail at all. What is the advantage of releasing any information at all other than: 1) To insure support and funding for projects 2) To scare the enemy. 3) To get the enemy t…

It doesn't need to be any more than what it (apparently) says on the tin. .50 BMG is very ballistically efficient as it is, so at shorter ranges, windage really isn't much of a concern. But at a couple of kilometres or more, drift can be significant. Keep in mind that these bullets will be used for individual kills of high-value human targets (no point putting it any differently; there's no advantage over tracers when used for automatic fire for antimateriel purposes where single shots would be ridiculous to contemplate, and there's no "shoot to wound" in the military, both by the rules of war and for more practical "he can still shoot back" reasons), and that recent operations (particularly in Afghanistan) have been in conditions where trying to get closer than a couple of clicks is suicidal due to lack of cover.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#59
post #2

Countdown to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jVsQToSfag

Bah, 1984 called and Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons want their self-guided bullets back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA6ybohAVq8

This is exactly what popped in my head when I read this headline. The camera angle from the bullet is pretty hilarious, with people diving out of the way and what not.

Re: EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

#60
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It says "optical guidance system" in the article." It doesn't make much sense that if you were developing an advanced weapons system that, other than to get out disinformation, it would be a good thing to tell exactly what you are doing in any detail at all. What is the advantage of releasing any information at all other than: 1) To insure support and funding for projects 2) To scare the enemy. 3) To get the enemy t…

This article sounds like a PR piece designed to get out in front of news and control the messaging. Likely they have reason to believe the project will leak shortly, and rather than having the media spin it as "Secret military lab designing killer guided sniper bullets! Police state imminent!", they want it out in public as "Your tax dollars are going toward some very advanced technology to ensure American military s…

Good point. I agree that's a possibility that instead of being a fresh "discovery" it becomes old news (if not reported right away). [1] But I'm wondering whether if that were the strategy it wouldn't make more sense to provide easier to understand (for layman) information? It was hard for me to follow from the visual I can't see any reporter simply writing about it or getting interested from what appears there. In other words it doesn't look very "sexy" visually. And presents as if it's in a very basic form (but then maybe that is exactly your point..)

[1] Obama did this with revelations of cocaine usage. Once it was out there it wasn't a big juicy story to present. Media likes scoops, exclusives not just digging up old info (ala some HN posts) of things that perhaps people missed (unless there is an angle that they can work).

I guess here is the thing about old news. People must assume that if something were said in 2012 and nobody made a fuss about it then it's because it's not a big deal.

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