Super bullet could strike target a mile away

With an LED at its tip, this self-guiding bullet streaks towards its target in a field test conducted by Sandia National Laboratories. / Sandia National Laboratories

A new design for a self-guiding bullet could allow sharpshooters to accurately fire at targets a full mile away.

The bullet, which is still in a prototype phase, is the brainchild of

Sandia's second crack at fuel-air stun grenade

New flash-bang safe, fireproof, says Sandia National Laboratories.

researchers Red Jones and Brian Kast. It is designed with built-in actuators and tiny fins that should allow it to rapidly adjust its path in flight.

Designed with the military, law enforcement, and recreational shooters as potential customers, the bullet is four inches long and has an optical sensor embedded in its nose for the detection of a laser on its target, Sandia said in a release today. The bullet also has built-in guidance and control electronics that receive data from the optical sensor and then manipulate the electromagnetic actuators. And the actuators use that data to steer small fins in order to direct the bullet directly to its target.

In the release, Sandia's Jones explained that the design of the self-guiding bullet required abandoning the traditional way rifle ammunition works. With conventional rifles, a fired bullet has to spin like a spiraling football pass in order to fly straight. But Sandia's bullet "flies straight due to its aerodynamically stable design," Sandia says, "which consists of a center of gravity that sits forward in the projectile and tiny fins that enable it to fly without spin, just as a dart does."

Although Sandia predicts that its self-guiding bullet could dramatically improve accuracy over long distances compared to traditional bullets, it doesn't promise perfect targeting. But according to a patent application Sandia filed, the new bullet could hit within eight inches of its target at a firing distance of a mile. That compares to a standard rifle-fired bullet, which tends to miss a target by about 29 feet after traveling a mile.

The four-inch-long bullet created by Sandia researchers has built-in actuators and tiny fins that are used to steer it toward its target.

/ Sandia National Laboratories

"As the bullet files through the air, it pitches and yaws at a set rate based on its mass and size," Jones explained in Sandia's release. "The natural body frequency of this bullet is 30 Hz, so we can make corrections 30 times per second. That means we can overcorrect, so we don't have to be as precise each time."

Sandia says that with commercially available gunpowder, the bullet will travel at speeds of 2,400 feet per second. But with customized gunpowder, it could hit military speeds. A Sandia field test demonstrated that the bullet's internal electronics and battery can survive the rigors of flying from rifle barrel to target. Presumably, they would not survive striking the target.

In a video, Sandia says it's evident that the bullet radically pitches as it's fired, but then pitches less as it gets down range. And because the bullet's movements stabilize the longer it's in flight, its accuracy improves the farther away the target is. "Nobody had ever seen that," Jones says in the Sandia release, "but we've got high-speed video photography that shows that it's true."

[toosilly]

The bullet requires laser guidance which means keeping the laser on the target, which won't help when firing from cover. It also won't be of much use to the spray 'n pray crowd.

Plus, it seems to work better when fired at targets at long range. (The bullet needs time to stabilize.)

It's also a four inch bullet. I don't think common thugs will be using such rounds casually. On the other hand, I would hate to be the Secret Service.

[burashak]

this is simply the next in our human evolution.if darwin was right,as most of us think he is,this revelation should be celebrated!survival of the fittest.isnt it?

[longtree-2009]

great invention for military combat troops, for special ops, for law enforcement swat teams, cia, fbi, secret service, and et al. the emphasis on marksmanship in any of those fields can be scaled back considerably with a smart bullet. everyone would be an expert shot with that smart bullet. excellent.

[ludvig1-2009]

Insane, the inventors should use it on themselves.

[burashak]

thats really funny

[fwd23515]

We'll never know how much this cost, but I imagine that the money could have paid to educate a lot of poor kids, or help find a cure for Alzheimer's, or rebuilt some decaying bridges, or any of a thousand positive things. Instead, we got a bullet.

I hope that in the fullness of time Mr. Jones and Mr. Kast develop the wisdom to perceive the tragedy of their accomplishment.

[SUZAMBA]

Oh great!! As if the military will be the only ones to use this bullet! Wait till all the thugs get a hold of this, and they will.
The thugs won't have to hunt you, the bullet will do the job for them. What will be next!!

[lucifersshadow]

It is sickening what horrible weapons mankind is willing to use on its own.

[burashak]

it is but our nature my friend

[magicbymark]

Once the bad guys get a hold of these, nobody will be safe. Remember Black Talon bullets that were nicknamed "Cop Killers" and pulled from the market?

The Black Talon bullet is a jacketed hollow-point bullet with perforations designed to expand sharp edges upon impact.

These new bullets will make Black Talons look like BB's.

[Ising4joy316]

The military, law enforcement, are great as potential customers, but recreational shooters, I'm not so sure, because it may get into the hands of the wrong people...and yes, I am a gun owner and believe 2nd amendment.

[OnTheRoad01]

As a peace loving country, it is trully amazing how much time/money/brain power this country spends on military hardware!