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Sandia’s Self-Guided Bullet Prototype Can Hit Target A Mile Away
armedselfdefense.blogspot.com ^ | 02/01/2012

Posted on 02/01/2012 1:10:09 PM PST by Sasparilla

Son of the Gyrojet of the 1960’s?

New Mexico has great hunting. Combine that with the skills and creativity of two Sandia National Laboratories engineers, and there’s now a patent for a self guiding bullet that the military could use. Two engineers, Brian Kast and Red Jones have come up with a dart like, self guiding bullet for smoothbore small caliber firearms. It would use laser guidance to hit targets at more than a mile.

They describe their invention as a promising technology that guides small projectiles that is inexpensive and can be produced fast.

This Government affiliated company is looking for a private company to finish testing and develop the round for the market. They have field tested prototypes successfully, but there are some bugs remaining to be worked out.

Here’s how it works. It’s a four inch long projectile that has an integrated laser optics sensor in the nose that detects a laser beam directed to a target. The sensor sends guidance data to an 8 bit processor to control electromagnetic actuators. The actuators steer tiny fins that deploy similarly to RPG rocket guidance fins as it leaves the firearm and is steered to the target. But, these don't spin.

There’s a tiny LCD attached to a self guided bullet in a nighttime test at Sandia Labs that is shown in the photograph below. This test was to show that the bullet’s internal guidance and batteries could survive the round being fired.

Most bullets are shot from rifles that have rifling that cause them to spin so they fly straight. These bullets are shot from a smooth bore. It flies straight due to its aerodynamically stable design, which consists of a center of gravity that sits...

(Excerpt) Read more at armedselfdefense.blogspot.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: banglist

1 posted on 02/01/2012 1:10:14 PM PST by Sasparilla
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To: Sasparilla

Every man a sniper.


2 posted on 02/01/2012 1:23:37 PM PST by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: Sasparilla

Aim the thing at a 45-degree angle and you could probably take out a target at 5-plus miles.


3 posted on 02/01/2012 1:35:08 PM PST by Joe the Pimpernel (Too many lawmakers, too many laws, too many lawyers.)
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To: Sasparilla
Different article on the same subject posted here
4 posted on 02/01/2012 1:37:37 PM PST by null and void (Day 1108 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
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To: Joe the Pimpernel
As long as you had the target lighted up by a laser and had the propulsion you're in business.
5 posted on 02/01/2012 1:46:02 PM PST by Recon Dad (Gas & Petroleum Junkie)
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To: Recon Dad
As long as you had the target lighted up by a laser and had the propulsion you're in business.

A .308 bullet will travel 7 miles with only one burst of propulsion.

6 posted on 02/01/2012 1:47:55 PM PST by Joe the Pimpernel (Too many lawmakers, too many laws, too many lawyers.)
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To: Sasparilla
I've been reading up on the DARPA programs aimed at increasing sniper range, like EXACTO. There's been no news for 6 months. http://www.special-operations-technology.com/sotech-home/340-sotech-2011-volume-9-issue-6-august/4577-better-bullets.html New Guns, New Bullets Weapons and ammunition operate as one system. There can be no doubt that in the field, the reliability of one affects the reliability of the entire system. A weapon system that the warfighter can rely on accomplishes several things. It increases morale, increases safety and increases mission success rate. With that in mind, another way entirely to get more accurate and better performing bullets is to put them in new and improved guns. That’s the philosophy behind AAI’s proprietary Lightweight Small Arms Technologies, or LSAT program. AAI is working with the Army to develop LSAT through the Joint Service Small Arms Program Office, located at the Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Key objectives of the program are to maintain or improve lethality and reliability over current systems, while at the same time reducing the weight of weapons carried by warfighters by 35 percent, and lowering ammunition weight by more than 40 percent. This has been demonstrated by the development of two unique lightweight rounds, polymer-cased telescoped ammunition and caseless telescoped ammunition. “Only the weight of the cartridge case is reduced, or totally eliminated in our caseless design,” explained Paul Shipley, LSAT program manager with AAI. “The same bullet is fired at the same velocity using the same propellant weight as the standard M855, so the accuracy and lethality remain the same. Our development focus has been the 5.56 mm M855, so that we can do a direct one-for-one firing comparison versus the M249/M855. We have conducted design studies for 6.5 mm, 7.62 mm, 0.338 cal, 0.50 cal. CT cartridges. All showed a weight reduction of 35-40 percent versus the standard cartridges while maintaining performance.” Reductions of up 50 percent can be achieved with the caseless bullet. The truly remarkable caseless design features a solid propellant body that burns completely when the round is fired. In essence the case is the propellant and therefore there isn’t any shell casing to eject. The caseless design not only significantly reduces weight, but the lack of cases left behind has unique implications for covert operations. To date, AAI has built four light machine guns and has test-fired more than 12,000 rounds of cased telescoped ammunition. But the developing technology is much broader than just a new light machine gun. It is applicable to a broad range of calibers and platforms to include a carbine that also fires the lightweight cased telescoped ammunition, which would be of particular interest to special forces. Plus, said Shipley, lessons learned in LSAT have practical implications for all types of arms. “We’ve done work on high temperature/ high strength materials, lubricious coatings, reduced flash propellant, and a 40-round magazine, all of which have potential applications in conventional weapons.” “Smart bullets” have long been a science fiction staple, and a realworld objective of DoD. A prototype smart bullet system, the XM25, has been deployed successfully in Afghanistan. More like a “smart grenade” actually, the Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, the weapon’s full name, uses laser-guided technology to fire a 25 mm “bullet” over the head of an enemy target, which calculates the precise point during flight to explode in mid-air above the target, raining down shrapnel. Troops who have used the five prototype XM25s in several engagements against the Taliban have nicknamed them “punishers.” The XM25 is scheduled to begin low-rate initial production in late 2013. The plan is to buy 12,500 weapons, one for each infantry squad or special forces team. Tomorrow and Beyond The Punisher may be the beginning of “smart bullet” technology but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to do an exclusive interview with then project manager Lyndall Beamer, about DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program. At the time, Beamer described the goal of the EXACTO program. “The basic concept of the EXACTO program is to remove the effect on accuracy of target motion and random variances in the environment through use of a guided bullet.” Now almost two years later, the program has a new manager, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph K. Hitt, but its goals remain the same. Hitt was unavailable for comment. However, it is known that 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. In October, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC, a division of Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Teledyne Technologies, received a $25.45 million “Phase II” contract from DARPA in the EXACTO program. Under the contract, Teledyne needs to deliver a working prototype of a .50 caliber round that can be guided and adjust itself for windage by fall 2012. Lockheed Martin, already a Phase I contractor as reported in 2009, will be incorporating its “One Shot” advanced gunsight technology, already in use by SOF, to deliver the Phase II sighting requirement. So the program is moving forward. No doubt we are on the brink of a game-changing evolution in ammo technology. As always, when it comes to the best technology used by the world’s greatest warriors, U.S. special forces will be the tip of the spear. ♦
7 posted on 02/01/2012 10:51:23 PM PST by Kevmo (If you can define a man by the depravity of his enemies, Rick Santorum must be a noble soul indeed.)
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formatted better

I've been reading up on the DARPA programs aimed at increasing sniper range, like EXACTO. There's been no news for 6 months.

http://www.special-operations-technology.com/sotech-home/340-sotech-2011-volume-9-issue-6-august/4577-better-bullets.html

New Guns, New Bullets Weapons and ammunition operate as one system.

There can be no doubt that in the field, the reliability of one affects the reliability of the entire system. A weapon system that the warfighter can rely on accomplishes several things. It increases morale, increases safety and increases mission success rate. With that in mind, another way entirely to get more accurate and better performing bullets is to put them in new and improved guns. That’s the philosophy behind AAI’s proprietary Lightweight Small Arms Technologies, or LSAT program. AAI is working with the Army to develop LSAT through the Joint Service Small Arms Program Office, located at the Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

Key objectives of the program are to maintain or improve lethality and reliability over current systems, while at the same time reducing the weight of weapons carried by warfighters by 35 percent, and lowering ammunition weight by more than 40 percent.

This has been demonstrated by the development of two unique lightweight rounds, polymer-cased telescoped ammunition and caseless telescoped ammunition. “Only the weight of the cartridge case is reduced, or totally eliminated in our caseless design,” explained Paul Shipley, LSAT program manager with AAI. “The same bullet is fired at the same velocity using the same propellant weight as the standard M855, so the accuracy and lethality remain the same. Our development focus has been the 5.56 mm M855, so that we can do a direct one-for-one firing comparison versus the M249/M855. We have conducted design studies for 6.5 mm, 7.62 mm, 0.338 cal, 0.50 cal. CT cartridges. All showed a weight reduction of 35-40 percent versus the standard cartridges while maintaining performance.” Reductions of up 50 percent can be achieved with the caseless bullet. The truly remarkable caseless design features a solid propellant body that burns completely when the round is fired. In essence the case is the propellant and therefore there isn’t any shell casing to eject.

The caseless design not only significantly reduces weight, but the lack of cases left behind has unique implications for covert operations. To date, AAI has built four light machine guns and has test-fired more than 12,000 rounds of cased telescoped ammunition. But the developing technology is much broader than just a new light machine gun. It is applicable to a broad range of calibers and platforms to include a carbine that also fires the lightweight cased telescoped ammunition, which would be of particular interest to special forces. Plus, said Shipley, lessons learned in LSAT have practical implications for all types of arms. “We’ve done work on high temperature/ high strength materials, lubricious coatings, reduced flash propellant, and a 40-round magazine, all of which have potential applications in conventional weapons.”


“Smart bullets” have long been a science fiction staple, and a realworld objective of DoD.

A prototype smart bullet system, the XM25, has been deployed successfully in Afghanistan. More like a “smart grenade” actually, the Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, the weapon’s full name, uses laser-guided technology to fire a 25 mm “bullet” over the head of an enemy target, which calculates the precise point during flight to explode in mid-air above the target, raining down shrapnel. Troops who have used the five prototype XM25s in several engagements against the Taliban have nicknamed them “punishers.”

The XM25 is scheduled to begin low-rate initial production in late 2013. The plan is to buy 12,500 weapons, one for each infantry squad or special forces team.


Tomorrow and Beyond

The Punisher may be the beginning of “smart bullet” technology but it is only the tip of the iceberg.
Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to do an exclusive interview with then project manager Lyndall Beamer, about DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program. At the time, Beamer described the goal of the EXACTO program.

“The basic concept of the EXACTO program is to remove the effect on accuracy of target motion and random variances in the environment through use of a guided bullet.” Now almost two years later, the program has a new manager, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph K. Hitt, but its goals remain the same.

Hitt was unavailable for comment. However, it is known that 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.

In October, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC, a division of Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Teledyne Technologies, received a $25.45 million “Phase II” contract from DARPA in the EXACTO program. Under the contract, Teledyne needs to deliver a working prototype of a .50 caliber round that can be guided and adjust itself for windage by fall 2012.

Lockheed Martin, already a Phase I contractor as reported in 2009, will be incorporating its “One Shot” advanced gunsight technology, already in use by SOF, to deliver the Phase II sighting requirement. So the program is moving forward. No doubt we are on the brink of a game-changing evolution in ammo technology. As always, when it comes to the best technology used by the world’s greatest warriors, U.S. special forces will be the tip of the spear. ♦









8 posted on 02/01/2012 10:52:36 PM PST by Kevmo (If you can define a man by the depravity of his enemies, Rick Santorum must be a noble soul indeed.)
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To: Sasparilla
There’s a tiny LCD attached to a self guided bullet

LCD? Huh?

When I read that, all I could think of was Project Pigeon.

9 posted on 02/01/2012 10:57:08 PM PST by cynwoody
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To: Sasparilla

Aw heck, this ain’t nuthin’ new!

A Mosin Nagant could hit a target farther away than that a hundred years ago. Granted your target had to be something like, say, the next County over. (I didn’t say IN the next county, I said THE next County.)

(If you are confused by this reply, please see tagline below)


10 posted on 02/01/2012 11:05:24 PM PST by Nik Naym (It's not my fault... I have compulsive smartass disorder.)
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To: Nik Naym

I have compulsive smartass disorder

LOL

My work mates accuse me all the time of the same, I mostly agree


11 posted on 12/31/2012 12:51:33 AM PST by Nailbiter
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To: Sasparilla

Install a launcher in a robo bird drone and you could have the perfect sniper rifle. Or a small anti-radar sheathed drone zeppelin with silent motors that could hover vertically above a target at several thousand feet and by remote would target the objective by an om board non visible laser.

Of course we will really be cooking with gas when we get a thermal imager that can identify a specific target, reminds me an old Tom Selleck movie.


12 posted on 12/31/2012 1:31:24 AM PST by Eye of Unk (A Civil Cold War in America is here, its already been declared.)
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