From our Friends at DARPA

[MTT TL]

It seems they have moved a little closer with their little EXACTO project. Does anyone have any more news on it? It looks like something straight out of the movies.

Press Release:

Sniper Teams to Increase Accuracy with Guided Rounds
Sniper teams remain the most lethal force on the battlefield and have been credited with many successful engagements. As effective as sniper teams are however, their accuracy is fundamentally limited by random variables such as changing winds, muzzle velocity dispersions and round-to-round variations. The DARPA EXtreme ACcuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program aims to maximize the effectiveness of sniper teams while improving their safety.
Through EXACTO, DARPA is developing a guided round capability in a .50 caliber platform. It is currently intended to provide snipers the capability to engage targets moving at much greater speeds, in tougher environmental conditions such as in high winds and at far longer ranges than currently possible. A guided sniper round would greatly increase accuracy by allowing compensation for environmental effects and target motion while dramatically reducing the engagement timeline.
“Between Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for trained snipers has increased dramatically”, says DARPA program manager Lyndall Beamer. “It’s time we look at how to maximize the utility of these assets and give them the best tools we can.” Along with increased speed and accuracy, EXACTO will improve sniper safety by opening a wide range of viable hide locations for sniper teams. The program aims to achieve all this while maintaining the current two man shooter/observer sniper team and minimizing changes to existing concepts of operations.
The program recently completed its first phase by achieving a successful proof of concept with a high fidelity hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation. Phase II will build and test a complete system, including the required optical sighting equipment and guided .50 caliber projectiles. Although intended for use by snipers, this technology is directly applicable to larger calibers as well as vehicle, ship- and airborne-mounted systems.
DARPA has signed a transaction agreement with Teledyne Scientific and Imaging for Phase II development and demonstration of a complete EXACTO system.

http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/exacto.pdf

Old article snippet:

The highly-classified EXACTO program began a year ago, when the U.S. military's band of scientists and engineers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — which played a key role in the creation of both the Internet and GPS — let the military-industrial complex know it was seeking a supergun. "The ability to more accurately prosecute targets at significantly longer range would provide a dramatic new capability to the U.S. military," DARPA'S solicitation for bids said. "The use of an actively controlled bullet will make it possible to counter environmental effects such as crosswinds and air density, and prosecute both stationary and moving targets while enhancing shooter covertness." (See pictures of dramatic pirate-hostage rescues.)

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891348,00.html#ixzz13rEFs1bN

Sounds too cool for school.

 

[dionysusigma]

Some of that writing is notably mall ninja-esque. :barf:

Sniper teams remain the most lethal force on the battlefield...

Really? Nukes have a slightly higher shot-to-kill ratio.

"The ability to more accurately prosecute targets at significantly longer range would provide a dramatic new capability to the U.S. military," DARPA'S solicitation for bids said.

<insert obligatory joke about judge, jury, and executioner>

Call me a purist, or even old fashioned, but their stated goal of "reducing training time and difficulty" isn't going to do a lot of good if this newfangled system fails. However, if it does work, then they'll put thousands of benchrest shooters out of a hobby.

 

[kozak6]

Really? Nukes have a slightly higher shot-to-kill ratio.

As I understand it, it's been a couple years since we dropped one of those on a bad guy.

However, if it does work, then they'll put thousands of benchrest shooters out of a hobby.

Doubtful. If civilians ever get their hands on them, it will because they've been replaced with phaser rifles. Without the fancy scope and other associated hardware, they won't necessarily be useful anyways.

The other part is that they are likely to be prohibitively expensive. The article says that the M107 and gear costs are currently $11,500. I bet Uncle Sam is willing to spend a lot more per round than you are.

 

[Lokpyrite]

Check out the movie "Runaway" with Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons for a look at something similar.

 

[FrankenMauser]

As I understand it, it's been a couple years since we dropped one of those on a bad guy.

A couple.

Several fortified locations in Afghanistan were reported to have been hit with tactical bunker-buster nukes in 2003 and 2004 (live "testing").


I knew of the optical half of this project, but the guided projectile is interesting (and new to me).