Sandia new laser guided bullet

[TiroFijo]

Check this, Sandia researchers have invented a dart-like, self-guided bullet for small-caliber, smooth-bore firearms that could hit laser-designated targets at distances of more than a mile (about 2,000 meters). The four-inch-long bullet has actuators that steer tiny fins that guide it to its target.

https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/bullet/

video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwVVYV3_K4&feature=youtu.be

 

[PSYOPS]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

It's all over the local news here!!

Is this a game changer???

 

[allwheeldriven]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

^This guy approves

 

[TiroFijo]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

Probably will take at least a decade (...if ever) to mature into something useful.

 

[Noel Carlson]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

I am certain they will have a viable system at some point, but 1.5 moa at 1,000 yards does not sound like a particularly "dramatic" improvement in accuracy, nor does 2,600 fps strike me as very high velocity for a saboted projectile.

They must be confronting electronics durability issues.

 

[TiroFijo]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

This is clearly waaay too early to tell...

Currently our known technologiy with non guided bullets is king of the hill, but remember how "safe" was the typewriter when the personal computer was born, or kodak when the digital pictures started.

 

[Noel Carlson]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

The question is one of a cost-race between consumable miniature guidance systems, and non-comsumable targeting systems.

The instant that it is less expensive to shoot smart bullets en mass, than well-placed dumb bullets, the game has changed (all else remaining equal)... it will happen.

 

[wadcutter]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

The need to light up a target prior to launch means that the bullet will most likely be used on material targets of value rather than live targets that tend to move about and have a natural dislike for being shot.
As such the projectile will need to have a fair mass to destroy material. This goes away from small calibre, shoulder based weapon systems.

 

[Dirty D]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

I found the last paragraph to be interesting

"Researchers also filmed high-speed video of the bullet radically pitching as it exited the barrel. The bullet pitches less as it flies down range, a phenomenon known to long-range firearms experts as “going to sleep.” Because the bullet’s motions settle the longer it is in flight, accuracy improves at longer ranges, Jones said."

Nice to see scientists with the proper equipment to document this bullet behavior.

 

[rpk762]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

I saw something like this a long time ago in something like 20mm or 30mm bullet. The tip was the part that moved. I do not know if it was real or not.

 

[Cardinal]

Re: Sandia new laser guided bullet

I remember Maj. John L. Plaster (ret) mentioned a laser guided .50 BMG bullet some years ago in one of his articles, and which was in testing/development.