A U.S. Marine Sniper sights a target through a scope on a 12.7 mm .50-caliber light Fifty Model 82A1 Sniper Rifle. Photo courtesy Department of Defense Defense Visual Information CenterFrom The Danger Room:
American snipers are already center-of-the-bullseye accurate - just look at the three shots that ended the Somali pirate standoff in the Indian Ocean. But tomorrow's sharpshooters could be even sharper still, if a slew of Pentagon research projects work out as planned.
Already, we've seen Navy SEAL shooters take out three pirates with three trigger-pulls -- despite uneven seas and bobbing ships. Imagine how much easier the snipers' jobs would have been, if they had rounds that could change course in mid-air, to account for crosswinds, air density, and moving targets. Darpa, the Defense Department's way-out research arm, launched a $22 million effort in November to do just that. By countering these "fundamental limitation[s] of accuracy," Darpa thinks it can dramatically improve American snipers' range -- and "provide a dramatic new capability to the U.S. military."
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