Video: Self-Guided Bullet Spots, Steers, and Nails Its Target
The U.S. military has been after self-guided bullets for years. Now, government researchers have finally made it happen: A bullet that can navigate itself a full mile before successfully nailing its target.
The breakthrough comes courtesy of engineers at Sandia National Laboratory, owned by Lockheed Martin. They’ve successfully tested a prototype of the bullet at distances up to 2,000 meters — more than a mile. The photo above is an actual image taken during one of those tests. A light-emitting diode was attached to the bullet, showing the amazing pathway that the munition made through the night sky.
Each self-guided bullet is around four inches in length. At the tip is an optical sensor, that can detect a laser beam being shone on a far-off target. Actuators inside the bullet get intel from the bullet’s sensor, and then “steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.” The bullet can self-correct its navigational path 30 times a second, all while flying more than twice the speed of sound.
