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EXACTO demonstrates first-ever guided .50-caliber bullets

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

#61

Post by mikeyouse »

wyager wrote: post #46
ErikRogneby wrote: post #27

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.

Militias don't have to fight directly against tanks and fighter jets. That's why they're effective. You can't maintain a police state by blowing up houses. If you do that, you end up cutting off your only revenue source (taxing employed people), because your tax base either can't or won't work (because they're dead, the roads are impassable, etc.). In fact, this situation would actually be quite beneficial to an insu…

> It's not economically feasible to give everyone state of the art sniper rifles like this.

The US has ~2M active duty / reserve military members.[1] The SR25 is a common choice for 'sniper' rifles in the military and costs about $5K new and kitted out. If this state of the art rifle costs 5x the typical rifle, it would cost $25B to outfit half of our current military with these weapons.

The US spends over $650B per year on our military[2], so that $25B would only represent 4% of our annual budget.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_e...

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

#62

Post by joshvm »

anemitz wrote: post #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/trackingpo…

That system is impressive. The website has a slightly more explanatory video - I wasn't quite sure what I'd seen from the DARPA link.

So basically the gun has a LIDAR for range, IMU for gun attitude and a Linux computer inside. You tag your target and it will use some kind of machine vision algo to track it even if it moves. You hold down the trigger and it will automatically fire when you put the gun in the right place. It's not truly guided like the parent, so if it's a windy day you're still likely to miss, but under calm conditions you can pretty much guarantee a perfect shot.

http://tracking-point.com/

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

#63

Post by rayiner »

ErikRogneby wrote: post #27

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 basis of American freedom isn't some libertarians with rifles. Its the fact that the U.S. military consists of poorly-paid kids who care more about family and community than they do about abstract ideas. That and the fact that the military and its arsenal is physicislly distributed over numerous states. More powerful military technology makes us more free, not less. It just means it takes fewer people to break ranks from an oppressive government and effectively oppose it.

The biggest threat is well paid mercenaries. It always has been.

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

#65

Post by ChuckMcM »

Fascinating, I thought it was the finned bullet but this doesn't seem to be that. There was an interesting, if somewhat forgettable, movie staring Tom Selleck called 'Runaway' which posited "tracker" bullets and use the of quad copters for remote surveillance.

I expect the next step will be fabrics that fluoresce in the visible spectrum when hit by IR or UV laser light to help warn people they are being 'designated.'

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

#67

Post by bicx »

NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #40
ErikRogneby wrote: post #27

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.

This is why well into the 20th century we didn't have standing armies. We should do away with the one we have now.

And draft a lucky few hundred thousand when the "need" arises. :)

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

#68

Post by dobbsbob »

wyager wrote: post #46
ErikRogneby wrote: post #27

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.

Militias don't have to fight directly against tanks and fighter jets. That's why they're effective. You can't maintain a police state by blowing up houses. If you do that, you end up cutting off your only revenue source (taxing employed people), because your tax base either can't or won't work (because they're dead, the roads are impassable, etc.). In fact, this situation would actually be quite beneficial to an insu…

To maintain a police state you need mass surveillance and informants. Secret police make you disappear long before your armed rebellion starts and your neighbors will be too scared to get involved or are the informants who turned you in. Flooding the streets with police isn't needed, along with informants they can always work with gangs like Assad does to act as street enforcement. The state's only cost is looking the other way while trafficking goes on and paying a network of snitches in every community.

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

#69

Post by pyrocat »

pmontra wrote: post #21
sschalk wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone seen Aliens? Anyone say M56 Smart Gun? http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/M56_Smart_Gun#Target_Tr... "When powered up, the gun begins tracking targets via its infrared tracker mounted above the barrel. The tracker consists of a 256 x 256 element platinum-silicide focal plane array cooled to 770 degrees K by a tiny cryogenic gas cooler working on the Stirling principle. This system monitors a 30 degree cone i…

The replay button of The Fifth Element trumps that, but it's not available yet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wOX2WqbXE

That... was the parent comment.

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

#70

Post by tim333 »

mikeyouse wrote: post #61
wyager wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Militias don't have to fight directly against tanks and fighter jets. That's why they're effective. You can't maintain a police state by blowing up houses. If you do that, you end up cutting off your only revenue source (taxing employed people), because your tax base either can't or won't work (because they're dead, the roads are impassable, etc.). In fact, this situation would actually be quite beneficial to an insu…

> It's not economically feasible to give everyone state of the art sniper rifles like this. The US has ~2M active duty / reserve military members.[1] The SR25 is a common choice for 'sniper' rifles in the military and costs about $5K new and kitted out. If this state of the art rifle costs 5x the typical rifle, it would cost $25B to outfit half of our current military with these weapons. The US spends over $650B per…

Also I don't think anyone's proposing giving everyone these. A couple of hundred could make quite a difference.
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