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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

#71

Post by gte525u »

NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #38
fractalsea wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may explain how the target corrects its trajectory towards the actual target, but how does the bullet determine what the "actual target" is in the first place? I would imagine this would be simple in test cases, but in the real world, what about a hostile target may differentiate it from a friendly ally that is nearby?

Just guessing, but the guidance is almost certainly handled remotely. Which opens it up to being hacked... a smart enemy might cause bullets to veer away from him.

It's unlikely to be actively guided remotely. It's likely a small sensor package in the bullet itself. I imagine a simple passive guidance system akin to one of the early MANPADS (i.e., Redeye or Strela-2), but, using a laser designator instead of target radiated infrared.

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

#72

Post by josephjrobison »

rayiner wrote: post #63
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 ra…

Interesting thought pattern which I agree with to some extent. Have you come across any articles related to this? Would love to read.

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

#73

Post by keehun »

finishingmove wrote: post #66

Another thing for killing. Just what the world needed.

This is what I initially thought, but there is always a flip-side.

Unless, humans agreed to complete cessation of violence (intentional or not), which to my knowledge has never lasted more than a week in recorded history (of wars), someone will always try to kill someone else.

Although I don't support the Military Industry, I think projects like this have the potential to get less people killed in battle.

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

#74

Post by pmorici »

ArikBe wrote: post #22
fractalsea wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may explain how the target corrects its trajectory towards the actual target, but how does the bullet determine what the "actual target" is in the first place? I would imagine this would be simple in test cases, but in the real world, what about a hostile target may differentiate it from a friendly ally that is nearby?

I commented below that it's marked by laser, but the counterargument was that if you can aim a laser you can aim a rifle. Let me rephrase: the goal of this system is to correct for deviations from the actual target which occur in the air. Because of wind, temperature, rotation of the earth (when taking really long shots) and other factors a marksman might have to adjust his or her aim and actually aim off-target to g…

I took it to mean that the rifles physical aim is independent of what the bullet is being aimed at through that video system.

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

#75

Post by beachstartup »

mikeyouse wrote: post #53
phaus wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

i don't know... i think the missions will just get harder. or remain just as hard, to up the success %.

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

#76

Post by yongjik »

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…

The flip side is that you can't fight a police state by blowing up houses, because you cut off the support of your people. (That is, unless the government is already busy blowing up houses and people decide there's no other way out.)

I always feel that "well-regulated militias" acting as a counterweight to the US government is a silly idea, because by the time a militia is called into action, (1) the government can also mobilize all its shiny toys and crush whoever's in the way, and (2) WTF were you doing while your country slid slowly and painfully into the level of present-day Iraq?

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

#77

Post by jloughry »

wmeredith wrote: post #24
ricardobeat wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can aim the laser, you can aim the weapon. This would certainly involve computer vision, makes it even more scary.

A laser is unaffected by things like gravity, recoil, wind, dust particles, drag, etc... Also, if it's a line of site issue. The sniper could be out of the line of site and as long as the laser operator can put light on target, it still gets hit (theoretically).

A laser is affected by temperature differences in the air (think about the mirage seen over a hot road surface) and even by gravity; a laser beam drops over distance like a bullet or a baseball, only it travels so fast that the effect is unnoticeable over earth-scale distances.

The effect of a temperature inversion, though, can be significant; it's possible that military laser designators use diverse wavelengths to avoid or compensate for it.

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

#78

Post by iandanforth »

I imagine you pair this with a Tracking Point (http://tracking-point.com/) rifle and you'll get some impressive performance. Thinking through how this would work .. would the sniper's spotter also become the painter? Or would it take a team of three Sniper+Spotter+Painter to combine these two technologies?

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

#79

Post by happyscrappy »

dobbsbob wrote: post #68
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…

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 th…

The Syrian and Russian model won't work in the States. Despite all its glaring failings there is still a relative balance of power.
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