The Smart Bullet
You fire a bullet, and it explodes where you tell it to. That's
the essence of the XM25, a gun that fires explosive rounds
able to neutralize enemies camped out behind cover. Using
the gun's laser range finder and the bullets — which
are equipped with microchips capable of registering distance
according to the number of times they've rotated — a
soldier can program a round to detonate up to 3 m beyond an
obstruction — no impact required. The practical value?
Soldiers in urban environments can fire over or past walls
sheltering their enemies, and the bullets will explode on
the other side. The weapon is currently under development
for the U.S. military by Alliant Tech systems, Heckler &
Koch and L-3 Brashear.
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