Self Guided Bullet Footage from DARPA

[Lowlight]

Follow the Link to Gizmodo and see the footage

Self-Guided Bullets That Change Course Midair Are Now Terrifyingly Real

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX8Z2MDYX3g

 

[Dirty D]

Probably not with this 1st generation shown in the video but it is probable that one day a FO will be able to designate a target with a laser and the shooter can fire from behind a hill/ other terrain and hit the target w/o the firing point giving away its position.

 

[DocUSMCRetired]

This would make hostage situations much easier to handle.

 

[Hairball]

I was looking at that yesterday and thought about posting it. Here is some more info on it:

"The U.S. government says it has developed the first ever self-guided bullets that can lock onto a target more than a mile away and maneuver midflight in order to hit its mark.
The .50 caliber target tracking bullets, dubbed Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO), are designed for military snipers, who must deal with changes in wind, light and ambient heat as they fire on a target. The EXACTO technology is being developed by Teledyne Scientific and Imaging with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which researches new military technologies and is known as a key developer of the Internet. The EXACTO round and optical sighting technology is expected to greatly extend day and nighttime range over current state-of-the-art sniper systems, DARPA said in a statement on its website. The system combines the maneuverable bullet with a real-time laser-guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target. The EXACTO rounds, which are accurate up to 1.2 miles, are guided to laser-marked targets and should help snipers work farther away from intended marks, and therefore avoid detection after firing, DARPA stated.While DARPA claims EXACTO is the first self-guided bullet, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) announced in 2012 that it had successfully fired a prototype self-guided bullet. SNL's dart-like, self-guided bullet is four inches long and also uses an optical sensor in its nose to detect a laser guidance system that must remain on target for the bullet to track".

What's funny is that the article states that the sniper will be able to stand-off the target much further and have a decreased chance of detection but what about the poor bastard that needs to sneak up there and hold the laser on the target until impact.

 

[woojos]

Probably not with this 1st generation shown in the video but it is probable that one day a FO will be able to designate a target with a laser and the shooter can fire from behind a hill/ other terrain and hit the target w/o the firing point giving away its position.

Sandia was working on something similar almost 3 years ago. Check out second link and they describe some of the technology. It's pretty much a mini ballistic missile, launched from a smooth bore rifle. They said the size of the bullet actually helped as it isn't as sensitive to overcontrol as its larger counterpart:

Sandia National Laboratories: Research: Intelligent Systems, Robotics, & Cybernetics: Guided Bullet Technology

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

 

[Dirty D]

Sandia was working on something similar almost 3 years ago. Check out second link and they describe some of the technology. It's pretty much a mini ballistic missile, launched from a smooth bore rifle. They said the size of the bullet actually helped as it isn't as sensitive to overcontrol as its larger counterpart:

Sandia National Laboratories: Research: Intelligent Systems, Robotics, & Cybernetics: Guided Bullet Technology

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

Scale this up to say a 20mm projectile, the increased size would allow for more payloads and power sources. Make it as a SLAP round for a 120mm (Abrams or Stryker MGS). A 120mm SLAP round would have several miles range or a 155mm SLAP round with God Knows how much range (I would think 100 miles would be doable). FO teams or UAV's would carry a laser designator and any tank, arty or Stryker MGS within range could fire at a gridsquare and when the projo gets over the gridsquare the guidance system takes over. I would be surprised if a version of this hasn't already been T&E'd someplace hot and sandy.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Scale this up to say a 20mm projectile, the increased size would allow for more payloads and power sources. Make it as a SLAP round for a 120mm (Abrams or Stryker MGS). A 120mm SLAP round would have several miles range or a 155mm SLAP round with God Knows how much range (I would think 100 miles would be doable). FO teams or UAV's would carry a laser designator and any tank, arty or Stryker MGS within range could fire at a gridsquare and when the projo gets over the gridsquare the guidance system takes over. I would be surprised if a version of this hasn't already been T&E'd someplace hot and sandy.

Absolutely, considering what something like this probably costs per round, Id think it would be a lot better put to use in a 155mm or 120mm tank round.

 

[Hairball]

Like this: The info is 5 years old so it should be better now

Tank round guides self to target during test | Air Force Times | airforcetimes.com

 

[Maggot]

Interesting, thanks for the post.

 

[softcock]

self-Guided Bullet by a shoulder fired rifle .

I need to understand the fine points ??? .
So a Shooter that has a target that is not visible inline sight . and not Rangeable to line of shooters sight . also target maybe 1 or 1-1/2 miles away .

Shooter firing the self-guided bullet . Still has to be remotely coordinated by a 2nd party that is closer to the Target, to IR Paint and supply other target info .

I dont get it ???
So Why cant the coordinated 2nd party Painting that has already worked it's way there, and that has to be in-line Sight & Range of target to Paint target . ' Take the shot ' ??? .
.

 

[eli polite]

I want one !!!

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

self-Guided Bullet by a shoulder fired rifle .

I need to understand the fine points ??? .
So a Shooter that has a target that is not visible inline sight . and not Rangeable to line of shooters sight . also target maybe 1 or 1-1/2 miles away .

Shooter firing the self-guided bullet . Still has to be remotely coordinated by a 2nd party that is closer to the Target, to IR Paint and supply other target info .

I dont get it ???
So Why cant the coordinated 2nd party Painting that has already worked it's way there, and that has to be in-line Sight & Range of target to Paint target . ' Take the shot ' ??? .
.

Exactly what Im thinking. It may make LOS long range shots more easy but its a bit useless for indirect fire. Screw calling in a indirect .50 cal when I can call in a indirect 155mm. If a .50 cal from a mile can take care of the problem then a 5.56 or 7.62 from 500yd should be able to take care of the problem as well.

 

[KYpatriot]

I dont see this being moa accurate but it is cool. I would think the above poster is correct about this being more useful with artillery, tank or mortar rounds. There plenty of limitations with laser guided ordnance though. Number one is making sure the line of sight from the ordnance perspective remains unobstructed.

Im curious about the guidance algorithm and whether it continuously steers to center the laser spot in the field of view, or if it guides in short bursts when it detects drift to the edge of the fov. Given the short time of flight it must have a pretty fast update rate. Speaking of fov, how wide is the fov of the bullet? Is the laser spot "coded" like most laser guided ordnance so that it isnt spoofed or drawn off target by other lasers?

Targeting with a guided bullet will be interesting if it has no propulsion. Without propulsion, you will have to give the bullet extra energy to guide with. In other words, a ballistic solution that would result in a hit without guidance will be short if the bullet ends up guiding a lot due to target movement or a lot of unaccounted for wind or just aiming error.

If they can miniaturize laser seeker tech this well, then a heat seeking version could be possible.

All that being said, at the rate battery and laser tech is progressing, it wont be long before the laser designator itself is the weapon, and kinetic guidance and ballistics solutions will seem as antiquated as telephones with wires.

 

[woojos]

The one link said it would hit within 8" of designator. It's not purely ballistic and can steer so angular measure of accuracy doesn't apply anymore.

 

[KYpatriot]

If it really can hit within 8in then it has seriously fast response time. I'm skeptical it is that good but I guess we will see. Angular measure still applies. There is a cep for every projectile on the planet.

 

[Tristian19]

What's funny is that the article states that the sniper will be able to stand-off the target much further and have a decreased chance of detection but what about the poor bastard that needs to sneak up there and hold the laser on the target until impact.

Without knowing anything else about this I'm thinking laser could be mounted on say a tripod fixed on target. Should be much more stable than someone holding it.

Just a thought...

 

[Hairball]

Sure you could try that but what happens when the target moves. While the concept is promising, still has a long way to go. Using lasers on a stationary target is done all the time but someone running about would be a pain and the shooter no longer directs impact as it falls on the one holding the laser. If a shot is missed or the round hits someone in the leg instead of the chest there will be a lot of finger pointing going on.

 

[softcock]

Exactly what Im thinking. It may make LOS long range shots more easy but its a bit useless for indirect fire. Screw calling in a indirect .50 cal when I can call in a indirect 155mm. If a .50 cal from a mile can take care of the problem then a 5.56 or 7.62 from 500yd should be able to take care of the problem as well.

.
Don't get me wrong on my comment . I do REALLY Applaud the accomplishment of this . but this just looks like a tiny step & not practical let alone efficient . But it's the tiny step and beginning of a much bigger picture that is coming around the corner .
.

 

[bogeybrown]

We already have laser-guided and GPS guided arty. I got to see one of the GPS guided rounds being fired in anger from a Triple-7. It was obviously just as loud and boring as any other arty round being fired, but my buddy called me over to say "hey, they're about launch a Lamborghini out of the Triple 7". For the money a handful of dumb rounds would have sufficed.

M712 Copperhead - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M982 Excalibur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The EXACTO's are sexy as a peek of what's possible, and what the next gen could be. But wait until DARPA gets the wind-reading Laser worked out, THAT is something that all of us will own once it's civilian-affordable.

All in all, it's nice to see that our defense industry is still working on cool tools for the warfighters.

 

[KYbulldog]

All this, no knock house to house, occupying force stuff is just lining the pockets of the MIC.

I miss the good ole days of "MESS WITH US AND WE'LL JUST NUKE YOU"?

 

[Phil1]

... But wait until DARPA gets the wind-reading Laser worked out, THAT is something that all of us will own once it's civilian-affordable.

All in all, it's nice to see that our defense industry is still working on cool tools for the warfighters.

Like this?:
New Wind-Reading LIDAR LaserScope within AccurateShooter.com

 

[Phil1]

...

All that being said, at the rate battery and laser tech is progressing, it wont be long before the laser designator itself is the weapon, and kinetic guidance and ballistics solutions will seem as antiquated as telephones with wires.

Like this?:
"The program will demonstrate a 50kW class laser weapon, mounted on a tactical vehicle can defeat UAS Low Observable/Low Radar Cross Section (LO/LRCS) threats while on-the-move."
US Navy evaluates laser weapons to augment ground-based air defense counter-UAS capability | Defense Update:

 

[bogeybrown]

Like this?:
New Wind-Reading LIDAR LaserScope within AccurateShooter.com

Without being a laser engineer, I'd say that's close to what I was told DARPA is working on?

 

[KYpatriot]

I wonder if some of this laser research is a direct result of the Boeing Airborne laser project. That project uses lasers to destroy ballistic missiles during the ascent phase by burning a hole in them. It has a targeting (aiming) laser that it uses to measure the refractivity of the air which it then uses to calibrate and aim the kill shot from the big laser.

 

[Dirty D]

We already have laser-guided and GPS guided arty. I got to see one of the GPS guided rounds being fired in anger from a Triple-7. It was obviously just as loud and boring as any other arty round being fired, but my buddy called me over to say "hey, they're about launch a Lamborghini out of the Triple 7". For the money a handful of dumb rounds would have sufficed.

M712 Copperhead - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M982 Excalibur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The EXACTO's are sexy as a peek of what's possible, and what the next gen could be. But wait until DARPA gets the wind-reading Laser worked out, THAT is something that all of us will own once it's civilian-affordable.

All in all, it's nice to see that our defense industry is still working on cool tools for the warfighters.

While arty will certainly speed the intended target towards their version of heaven it is not always appropriate to drop an HE round in the middle of a village full of children.

 

[bogeybrown]

While arty will certainly speed the intended target towards their version of heaven it is not always appropriate to drop an HE round in the middle of a village full of children.

I know man. Precision munitions have their place, and I don't think either of us want to open the can of worms that is our ROEs.

 

[ArmyJerry]

Hell time to put another layer of sandbags on the bunker and get some old M113 periscopes. They should do this with a 20 mm he round.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

The ABL was a flop. Dont get me wrong the tech worked fine from what I saw. But the mission itself of the weapon was insane to begin with. How is a plane just supposed to magically always be within 100mi or so of any nuclear ballistic missile that an enemy could possibly light off. Also, I dare say that chemical lasers are not the way to go.

This on the other hand looks fun:

News: All Systems Go: Navy's Laser Weapon Ready for Summer Deployment - Office of Naval Research

 

[Pritch]

well lets take all the training out of shooting and just hand over the designator and rifle setup instant ultimate sniper sign up for a 3 day course here...

very cool tech takes a majority of the guess work out of the equation 1 minute of error that's not hard to fix just get 3 of these setups and do a team firing technique and the law of averages will win the only other thing to note is with 50 rounds you don't necessarily have to hit the target just get relatively close to give someone a bad day.

And i thought the cost of ammunition was bad already lol these rounds would be expensive bugger the 10 dollar bill getting launched lets just go for a Benjamin or 2

 

[FS1]

A bullet with your name on it just got a bit closer to reality.

 

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Technology using lasers to read atmospheric disturbances has a wide array of applications. The Very Large Telescope array at Cerro Paranal, Chile, uses a "laser guide star" and "laser adaptive optics" to correct their telescopes' optical signal. The 8-meter wide mirrors are backed with thousands of hydraulically-powered "feet" capable of flexing tiny regions of the mirror with microscopic precision in response to laser measurements to correct "ocular aberrations." Multiple telescopes are networked allowing their images to be merged, both compounding their acuity and providing a 3-D perspective. In the visible spectrum VLT has just slightly lower resolution than Hubble, but the up-side is you don't have to hitch a multi-million dollar ride into space from goddam Russians every time a light bulb burns out.

DARPA is today where NASA was in the 1960s. It's a magnet for the best scientists the US (and much of the rest of the world) can produce, partly out of patriotism, partly out of lusting after the access to exclusive technology, and partly for bragging rights. It has minimal bureaucracy, a direct line to the US Mint, and clarity of mission. What more could a science wonk ask for?

 

[woojos]

DARPA is today where NASA was in the 1960s. It's a magnet for the best scientists the US (and much of the rest of the world) can produce, partly out of patriotism, partly out of lusting after the access to exclusive technology, and partly for bragging rights. It has minimal bureaucracy, a direct line to the US Mint, and clarity of mission. What more could a science wonk ask for?

Interesting fact is that the ubiquity of small form factor cameras today is a result of NASA's mission to reduce the size/weight of everything to optimize the size of the payloads they were able to carry to outer space.

Guns and butter.

 

[Longshot231]

It's been about nine years since this round was introduced. Has there been anymore news on it? Was it really as successful as they say it was? Was it an expensive failure or is it sooooo good they are going to keep as much information about it classified as long as possible.

 

[Bender]

They shot it, Kamala Harris was too close (three states away) and her black (hole) had too much gravity and now it’s gone forever and they canceled all further research because all units had to do was get a hooker on the team to keep them safe. This is a true story. Believe me, it was an embarrassment and now they tried to memory hole it.

 

[vh20]

It's been about nine years since this round was introduced. Has there been anymore news on it? Was it really as successful as they say it was? Was it an expensive failure or is it sooooo good they are going to keep as much information about it classified as long as possible.

It's a great question. There are so many things touted as the next big military breakthrough that really never pan out, so it's very possible it died in obscurity due to failure. But then there IS that OpSec possibility...

 

[Longshot231]

Cost is $1000 per round. Okay, does anyone have any load data and source for the projectiles. I’m sure we could reload for it and get the cost down to $200 per round.

 

[Aftermath]

You haven't heard shit about it for a decade because it was complete bullshit to begin with. Recall the April Fools footage by Hornady IIRC showing the bluetooth camera bullet....
This was never a thing.

 

[GreenGO Juan]

M982...

 

[RonA]

So they are still trying to figure out how to hit targets with a Barrett M82?

 

[MadDuner]

So they are still trying to figure out how to hit targets with a Barrett M82?

Move closer and apply moment of bus.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Technology using lasers to read atmospheric disturbances has a wide array of applications. The Very Large Telescope array at Cerro Paranal, Chile, uses a "laser guide star" and "laser adaptive optics" to correct their telescopes' optical signal. The 8-meter wide mirrors are backed with thousands of hydraulically-powered "feet" capable of flexing tiny regions of the mirror with microscopic precision in response to laser measurements to correct "ocular aberrations." Multiple telescopes are networked allowing their images to be merged, both compounding their acuity and providing a 3-D perspective. In the visible spectrum VLT has just slightly lower resolution than Hubble, but the up-side is you don't have to hitch a multi-million dollar ride into space from goddam Russians every time a light bulb burns out.

DARPA is today where NASA was in the 1960s. It's a magnet for the best scientists the US (and much of the rest of the world) can produce, partly out of patriotism, partly out of lusting after the access to exclusive technology, and partly for bragging rights. It has minimal bureaucracy, a direct line to the US Mint, and clarity of mission. What more could a science wonk ask for?

Plus after your stint at DARPA (program managers are only there for 4-6 years) you are solid gold hiring material. Or back to unit with a major gold star in your copybook.

It is a prestige post for sure. Hopefully they have recovered from the disastrous Tony Tether years… because he was a nightmare for people and innovation.

Sirhr

PS. They used to have a saying “DARPA Hard.” They are not there to make products. They are there to crack bleeding edge technical problems so mortals can turn the results into products. It’s an amazing place and one of the best expenditures of tax $$ we have. So much spin-off technology.