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There are already smart guns, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has taken it a step higher – the agency has built smart bullets. The military agency has released new footage of its Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance – EXACTO rounds for short – that show how the smart bullets maneuver in mid-air to hit moving targets.
DARPA first exhibited its EXACTO technology in a video released last year. The video showed the agency’s advanced bullet as it was fired from a rifle, showing it change course half-way through its flight to hit the designated area.
The video, which was taken during tests earlier in February, show the bullets compensating for the acceleration of a moving target, changing from its natural course to hit their torso-shaped objective.
The agency says the technology will help snipers identify targets quickly in hostile locations such as Afghanistan, where high winds and dusty terrain would normally send the bullets off course.
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The new bullets are designed for professional snipers, but the technology seems advanced enough to find its mark without a dead-eyed veteran behind the sniper scope: the video gives evidence of the fact that even when a first-time sniper pulls the trigger, the EXACTO bullets still find their mark with surprising accuracy.