It will no longer be possible to dodge a bullet, as the U.S. Department of Defense has created a “magic bullet.” The system has been developed by DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance program, known as EXACTO. This bullet is self-guided and will hit its target every time even if it is fired by an untrained, novice shooter. The U.S. military calls the .50-caliber smart bullet a “major breakthrough.”
The latest round of testing, held in February, went better than officials were expecting with the program manager, Jerome Dunn, going so far as to say it “demonstrated what was once thought impossible.”
In February, the “smart bullets” — .50-caliber projectiles equipped with optical sensors — passed their most successful round of live-fire tests to date, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
In the tests, an experienced marksman “repeatedly hit moving and evading targets,” a DARPA statement said.
“Additionally,” the statement said, “a novice shooter using the system for the first time hit a moving target.” In other words, now you don’t even have to be a good shot to hit the mark.
“This live-fire demonstration from a standard rifle showed that EXACTO is able to hit moving and evading targets with extreme accuracy at sniper ranges unachievable with traditional rounds. Fitting EXACTO’s guidance capabilities into a small .50-caliber size is a major breakthrough and opens the door to what could be possible in future guided projectiles across all calibers,” Dunn said.
Videos supplied by DARPA show the bullets making sharp turns in midair as they pursue their targets.
Granted, this is a great technology if it is only used for good, but if it gets into the wrong hands this seems like it could be disastrous.