New rifles with explosive rounds can be told where to detonate
Posted 06.05.2009 at 4:09 pm
29 Comments
Smart Rifle You won't see the rifle or the bullet until it's too late
It would be hard to describe a bullet as smart, but what if that bullet was laser-guided, radio-controlled, and carried an onboard targeting CPU? The US Army has announced the creation of the XM25 rifle, which can fire a new type of explosive round that fit that exact description. Imagine the implications: hitting targets inside buildings or hiding around walls. Whoa.
First, the scope on the rifle has a laser that gauges the distance to the target. The soldier can set exactly where the 25-millimeter bullet will detonate by adding or subtracting 3 meters from that point. Then, the scope will send a radio signal to a chip inside the bullet telling it how far it should travel before exploding.
Now, here’s where things get truly nuts: Each bullet has a small magnetic transducer that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, generating a tiny alternating current every time it spins as it speeds toward the target. Measured against the gun's specially calibrated rifling, this means the bullet can keep track of how far it has traveled in real time. Whoa, again.
Smart Bullets In Action: Trenches are no longer a safe place to hide
The Army has proposed the uses can range from hitting enemies hidden in trenches (as pictured above), or even hitting a sniper hiding in a building by setting the range about a meter beyond the window. They are also proposed as a smarter alternative to grenade launchers, which can serve the same purpose but be less accurate and have limited range, making them more prone to collateral damage.
The Army will begin field tests with the XM25 system soon, with hopes of deploying it into regular duty by 2012.
[New Scientist]
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Won't matter, 'cause everyone they might use it on will be dead in december of 2012. Duhn duhn duhhhh!
from coral gables, fl
When can the public get their hands on one?
Depends on who you know, I'd guess. That and whether or not you wanted to aquire it legally.
that would make a crazy awsome hunting rifle
Oh snap! Like its really a surprise. Please - They were doing it in video games before you could think it US Army. Soon it will be us gamers doing the work anyway...S Curving to Enders game...*shudder*.
What? Whatchu go'n do? *Maximum strength*
Humans will not be fighting in war by 2012. It will be robots.
Preferably, there'd be no need for war in 40-50 years.I think it would be great if there were some natural disaster, apparent to all nations, that required humanity to band together and learn to survive together. (Also thinking about Ender's Game. Or perhaps The War Against the Chtorr. Or even a Mr. Manhattan scenario.)
-----------------------------------------------------------
I don't claim to be intelligent. I only claim to be human, in so far as I know.
whats the uses? Save that money for the needy in are oun country. WE are in bad shape allready,can we afford more killing, then rebuilding?
In theory, a more efficient weapon allows us to spend less time killing and more time building. Of course, that only really applies if the weapons are being used in a defensive capacity, and if everyone did that we wouldn't need them to begin with.
With all are food money and water running out all over the world there mite be even more war or we will stop and work together to save the starving and weak people. But the peace thing i just said is very unlikely.
John Scalzi, call your office -- http://www.scalzi.com/books/omwpreview.html -- next thing we'll hear is that they've developed the BrainPal...
I was wondering when they were going 'down-scale' the tech for the original crew-served system to an individual system...well, questioned answered.
As a side note, calling a 25mm projectile a 'bullet' is akin to labeling a tiger a 'house cat'. The round is a caliber typical of an 'auto-cannon'; the fact that DARPA has managed to design a shoulder-fired version is...significant, to say the least.
And for you 'sensitive' types hoping for 'peace, love and understanding', think on this: 'Those who beat their swords into plowshares will be plowing for those who didn't.'
Freedom isn't a prize you pull out of a cereal box.
A natural disaster severe enough to make humanity band together. Ask the folks in New Orleans if Katrina helped them band together. I think you've been reading to much Stirling.
This round will essentially be a tiny fragmentation grenade. Upon detonating, it will spray fragments at least 360 degrees around the line depicting its flight path, with at least a substantial part of the blast also forward and rearward from this flight line. Thus, very little of the propelled fragmentation of the already miniaturized round will travel toward the target, and with not a whole lotta force.
Should the round have passed over the target before detontating, subtract from the propelled velocity of the fragmentation the forward velocity of the round at the instant of detonation. Figure a muzzle speed of at least 1500 ft/s, degraded by perhaps one third over the effective range, and you are tossing a tiny grenade past a target at 1000 ft/s. It'll might make them uncomfortable enough to move and hence susceptible to direct fire, but I don't see this thing as terribly useful except in limited roles (sniper positions come to mind).
A skilled M-203 grenade launcher user can split a fly's antennae at 175 yards. Except for the "cool" factor, is there a need for this platform? Especially at its surely elevated purchase and ammunition price. Just saying...
from Shawnigan Lake, British Columiba
(Ha ha, a lot of spelling mistakes from user comments.)
If I'm reading this correct, The scope determines where the bullet will explode by send signals to the bullet then you can adjust by 3 meters from that spot your aiming?
ex:
X- Rifleman
#- Scope marker
O- Hostile units
$- Money shot? :P
Because I can's draw up, does the scope have to be on a solid target to lock and transmit? If the scope saves the range and allows you to adjust while moving above your target area into the open(nothing solid to aim at) and adjust by a few meters to allow the proper shot?
Where to adjust to
$<- shoot for an
(line of sight) effective shot?
X * * * * * * * * # -\
______________/ \ _______
^ \ /
| \___O_O_/
| ^
Ridge |
Trench
(This diagram was a lot more difficult to make then I have hoped... Curse you PopSci comment boxes.)
Anyway... I'm not really sure how it works, I would really like to see the inside and some better diagrams explaining how it works.
@MilMan-
What you say is true, but it all hinges on the actual capacity of the charge in the round. Typical frags use a form of dynamite as the explosive. These rounds actually may use a small amount of SEMTEX/C4.
Another application (which may have been the initial purpose for development) is to use the rounds like 30mm Bushmaster air-burst rounds to have a point shotgun blast to shoot through thin barriers. They work the same way.
"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."
-Albert Einstein
One more thing. I have seen what one Bushmaster round can do to a house and it ain't pretty. Epic FUBAR!!@1!
totally illegal for civilian use.
from Elmhurst, NY
There will always be war, if not large then small. If by some chance something caused us to be united to gather the planet together, there would be those against what they might call "The New World Order" regardless of the benefit to the other 99% of the planet.
There is a reason that "Star Ship Troopers" was ironic. Even though the world was united under one government, it was a fascist regime and one could not become a citizen unless enlisted in the military.
Government can be changed by 3 types of boxes: soap, ballot and ammunition.
ha the enemy cant hide now.
I remember watching a documentary about bullets like these about a year ago, but they didn't explode. These must be some really expensive weapons. It would be interesting to see the cost of the research and development. I bet if you ask any American today who their favorite Idol contestant was from the past couple of years, there is a big chance they'll give you an informed answer. Ask them about who their city or state elected officials are, or how much money is developed on these military rifles I would imagine they would struggle for an answer. The most amazing thing is for them to move around corners. Still, amazing article.
_____________________
Life is for living your dreams.
http://www.auntyflo.com
Cool weapon, great machine made by human to kill people!
http://tinyarticle.com
a great feature, and so in a terrifying, thanks for sharing
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www.misschat.net
This looks suspiciously like a resurrected version of the O.I.C.W. program, a subset of the Land Warrior program.
I was wondering when they were going 'down-scale' the tech for the original crew-served system to an individual system...well, questioned answered.
As a side note, calling a 25mm projectile a 'bullet' is akin to labeling a tiger a 'house cat'. The round is a caliber typical of an 'auto-cannon'; the fact that DARPA has managed to design a shoulder-fired version is...significant, to say the least.
And for you 'sensitive' types hoping for 'peace, love and understanding', think on this: 'Those who beat their swords into plowshares will be plowing for those who didn't.'
Freedom isn't a prize you pull out of a cereal box.
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Hell, the main reason the government is so worried about their military system then their country. Is probably because were already so far in debt and all the other countries are getting more advanced equipment than we are and they just want to make sure were always the more dominant country. But because of their selfish ways of keeping power WE THE PEOLE are suffering for it.