A Shot In The Dark, Or Right On The Mark? DARPA Invents Bullets That Can Hunt You Down

It worked for missiles, and now, it's coming to a .50 caliber...hopefully not anywhere you're on the receiving end of.

According to Business Insider, the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a bullet that is able to change its own path in flight, like a Super Mario villain come to life.  This would not just account for windage and other riflery considerations, but also could be made to seek out a specific target that has moved or taken cover.

Next up:  military-grade raccoon suits?
(Image courtesy reinodocogumelo.com.)

What?  How?  The bullets use optical sensors embedded in their nosecones, which use in-flight information to determine whether their onboard electronically-operated fins should be deployed to change the projectile's course.

Known as EXACTO, for “Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance”, the project's mission will be “developing more accurate military artillery that will enable greater firing range, minimize the time required to engage with targets, and also help reduce missed shots that can give away the troops’ location.”

That's no excuse to slack on your marksmanship, though.  These new bullets should work well for snipers, but you never know when some good old fashioned-style targeting skills will come to your aid.

Curse the thought of losing any of your high-stakes games of Rifle-Tac-Toe.
(Image courtesy theartoftherifleblog.com.)