Sandia's self-guided bullet prototype can hit target a mile away

Sandia's self-guided bullet prototype can hit target a mile away

Sandia Labs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — Take two Sandia National Laboratories engineers who are hunters, get them talking about the sport and it shouldn’t be surprising when the conversation leads to a patented design for a self-guided bullet that could help war fighters. (Click here for a video showing the prototype’s flight.)

Sandia researchers Red Jones and Brian Kast and their colleagues have invented a dart-like, self-guided bullet for small-caliber, smooth-bore firearms that could hit laser-designated target

(visit the link for the full news article)

Sandia is seeking a private company partner to complete testing of the prototype and bring a guided bullet to the marketplace.

Researchers have had initial success testing the design in computer simulations and in field tests of prototypes, built from commercially available parts, Jones said.

While engineering issues remain, “we’re confident in our science base and we’re confident the engineering-technology base is there to solve the problems,” he said.

Sandia’s design for the four-inch-long bullet includes an optical sensor in the nose to detect a laser beam on a target. The sensor sends information to guidance and control electronics that use an algorithm in an eight-bit central processing unit to command electromagnetic actuators. These actuators steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.

Well THAT will take the 'sport' out of target shooting and would increase the kill rate. No more sharp shooters needed... just point in the general direction and fire away.

Of course we wouldn't want the bad guys getting these... shooting from a mile away? Dang that is a little scary because you won't even see the shooter

Sandia Labs
(visit the link for the full news article)

ETA

Seems ATS didn't like the https link

Sandia's self-guided bullet

Caption
A tiny light-emitting diode, or LED, attached to a self-guided bullet at Sandia National Laboratories shows a bright path during a nighttime field test that proved the battery and electronics could survive the bullet's launch. (Photo courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories) Click on thumbnail for high-resolution image.

Hmm at four inches long it hardly qualifies as a bullet.

So the 2nd gen will be miniaturized right ??

Cosmic..

reply to post by Cosmic4life

Prototypes are always larger Think of the Computer and the Calculator as examples

Caption
The four-inch-long bullet has actuators that steer tiny fins that guide it to its target. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Click on thumbnail for a high-resolution image.

if you have been painted by the laser then learn to unpaint yourself and this bullet can't find you.

Lasers can shoot a target 30,000 miles away.

#Winning.

Originally posted by victor7
if you have been painted by the laser then learn to unpaint yourself and this bullet can't find you.

Aren't most laser designators in the infrared spectrum? You can't even see the laser with your eyes.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


that's for engineers and arms experts to develop. i have heard there are equiptments given to tank crews that would unpaint the laser pointer on them, pointed by planes flying above. once unpainted, the Laser Guided Bombs cannot find their target and get lost in the air or have a free fall etc.

i am no arms expert but know its and bits here and there only.

Frightening!!!
Reminds me of some mafia movies when they said that they had a bullet with someones name on it...

I was thinking more of what snipers and criminals would do with this.
Think what a contract killer would be able to do from a mile away? Few politician. or persons of intrust would be safe.

reply to post by RedGolem


You'd still have to keep/get your laser designator on the target? Not much different than a crosshair...
I guess you could adjust aim after firing and have the designator and shooter in different positions could be an advantage in some situations

Now if I could lob one in the air and have it go find big buck for me then you'd be on to something...

I see the M-107 .50cal rifle as the target for an eventual production model of this type of round. They will have to configure it to work with a rifled bore, however - which will probably prove quite difficult.

Otherwise, you are looking at a very expensive bullet that requires a specialized firing platform with a questionable amount of penetrating capability.

That is likely to generate very little interest, even from the special forces communities.

Originally posted by iforget
reply to post by RedGolem

 

You'd still have to keep/get your laser designator on the target? Not much different than a crosshair...
I guess you could adjust aim after firing and have the designator and shooter in different positions could be an advantage in some situations

Now if I could lob one in the air and have it go find big buck for me then you'd be on to something...

I think the next gen will have GPS and probably cell mast location hardware computermabobs.

As a previous poster put it, bullet with our names on it.

Cosmic..

Reminds me of the movie Dune where an assassin uses a similar remote piloted bullet dart against Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) in the David Lynch version. I can't find a clip of it but here's the trailer.

I imagine eventually we'll have all kinds of miniature UAV's that mimic insects in order to spy on or kill unfortunate targets.

Originally posted by iforget


You'd still have to keep/get your laser designator on the target?

In an above post they said a round was fired with a working led. That tells me the round will have the laser built in. Perhaps a fire and forget round.

Originally posted by RedGolem

Originally posted by iforget


You'd still have to keep/get your laser designator on the target?

In an above post they said a round was fired with a working led. That tells me the round will have the laser built in. Perhaps a fire and forget round.

What would be the point of that exactly? You might as well just use a normal bullet if your want this bullet to self-target. I seriously doubt that the technology is possible, where you can stick a laser and targeting and guidence software into a bullet.

It would make much more sense to have the laser operated externally. Imagine having a two-man sniper team where the observer marks the target and the marksman shoots. This is already a common tactic but this technology would improve it big time, especially if your shooting at high profile targets.

Still a scary weapon though... and probably prone to a lot of costly failure (like the gyrojet). I would still prefer traditional ammo myself where the only factor that matters is my input into making the shot.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


I agree if the evolves there will be two man teams with one lighting up the target. However, the source article did state that a bullet has been successfully test fired with an internal led so that much of the system has already been tested. The article also stated steering would be done with fins. So it does sound as if they are on the way to a one man fire and forget bullet system.

reply to post by RedGolem


Could be I read it differently but idk

I thought the LED was so they could track the bullet's flight with a camera

Originally posted by iforget
I thought the LED was so they could track the bullet's flight with a camera

It was..

but also to prove that delicate electronics could survive the shock of firing