EXACTO

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EXACTO ( acronym from the words EX treme AC curacy T asked O rdnance) is a DARPA research project to develop a system consisting of a sniper rifle and associated precision-guided ammunition . The 22 million US dollars expensive project (2009) is by Lockheed Martin and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging developed.

The .50 Browning gun fires actively guided ammunition that targets a laser-marked target . For this purpose, the projectile maneuvers in flight and thereby enables high accuracy at great distances and against moving targets.

A new feature of the system is the ability to change the bullet's trajectory even after leaving the barrel . So it is not only possible for the rifle bullet to influence any firing path, such as B. wind, to counteract, but even a chosen target that was not aimed directly at yourself.

For reasons of confidentiality, little is known about the ammunition and the control technology used. In contrast to similar projects that rely on smoothbore weapons, EXACTO uses a normal rifle with a rifled barrel . The projectile must be able to recognize and steer towards the target as it rotates. For this purpose, the center of gravity of the ball could be changed in resonance with its twist or the shape could be adapted accordingly using piezo elements .

The material published by DARPA showed a weapon whose shooter deliberately aimed wrong so that the bullet had to automatically compensate for its trajectory. It is believed that EXACTO dramatically increases the accuracy of snipers at long range. Even an inexperienced shooter is said to have succeeded in hitting a distant, moving target on the first attempt. In a next step, DARPA has planned to test the new weapon technology under real conditions. In 2015, DARPA assumed that even inexperienced shooters using the system for the first time could reliably hit moving targets through the flight control of the projectile. However, after 2014 DARPA did not reveal any details about the structure and mode of action of the storeys.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Shi Yunbo, Zhang Bin, Liu Jun, Lin Xiaobo, Zhanga: Research on Active Laser Guidance for Deflectable Nose Bullet . In: IEEE (Ed.): 2010 Symposium on Photonics and Optoelectronics . 2010, p. 1-4 , doi : 10.1109 / SOPO.2010.5504302 .
  2. ↑ a b Alan drawing: Pirates in DARPA Cross-hairs . In: netWorker . tape 13 , no. 2 , 2009, ISSN  1091-3556 , p. 4-7 , doi : 10.1145 / 1540392.1540394 .
  3. ^ Paul Scharre: Uncertain Ground: Emerging Challenges in Land Warfare . Ed .: Center for a New American Security. 2015, p. 17 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Mark Thompson: Pirates Beware: Soon Rifles That Kill from a Mile Away. In: TIME. April 15, 2009, accessed January 8, 2015 .
  5. ^ Gordon Ecco: EXACTO: DARPA develops self-guiding rifle bullets. December 29, 2014, accessed January 8, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b Evan Ackerman: DARPA's Self-Steering EXACTO Bullets Home in on Moving Targets. In: IEEE Spectrum . April 29, 2015, accessed February 20, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Nick Lavars: DARPA's guided sniper bullet changes path mid-flight. July 15, 2014, accessed January 8, 2015 .
  8. ↑ EXACTO Demonstrates First-Ever Guided .50-Caliber Bullets. July 10, 2014, archived from the original on February 8, 2015 ; accessed on January 8, 2015 .
  9. ^ Matt Burke: DoD Wants Bullet That Can Change Direction After Being Fired. December 15, 2014, accessed January 8, 2015 .
  10. ↑ EXACTO Guided Bullet Demonstrates Repeatable Performance against Moving Targets. April 27, 2015, accessed December 19, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Kyle Mizokami: Become a Super Sniper. DARPA is Turning .50 Caliber Bullets into Guided Rounds. The bullet is even capable of making some remarkably sharp course corrections. ( nationalinterest.org July 28, 2018)