Remember the 2008 action flick, Wanted, that starred Angelina Jolie who is part of a group of specialized assassins that can bend the pathways of bullets? Well, not everyone needs to be born with such a special gift as in the movie, since a steerable bullet has already been invented in real life for general military use, thanks to the researchers over at Sandia National Laboratory. Guess such a bullet is an advantage on the battlefield, as an ordinary trooper, on paper, now gains the capabilities of an advanced sniper. The Sandia system relies on a smooth bore barrel that fires the projectile, and the bullet itself comprises a smooth 4″ design alongside plastic sabot coverings that provide a gas seal, and as it leaves the barrel, control fins are revealed to control the pitch and yaw. An 8-cell optical sensor is incorporated into the round’s tip, where it will guide the ordinance onto a target which has been lit up using a laser designator from afar.
Red Jones, Distinguished Member of Sandia’s technical staff, says, “This is intended for Private Snuffy, not for a highly trained Special Forces guy. We’re making it simple for everyone to use.” If this actually takes off in a big way, those sniper stories of old will no longer be as enthralling anymore, as everyone can now snipe with a little help from technology.
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