An incredible superbullet dreamed up in 2008 is now a reality. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency reveals it has created a self-steering bullet that can change its own course in mid-air to hit a moving target. In a DARPA video, a sniper fires at a target that moves out of the bullet's predicted path. In response, the bullet follows and finds the moving target. Even an inexperienced shooter was able to hit the mark, LiveScience reports. Program manager Jerome Dunn says the program, labeled Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO), "has demonstrated what was once thought impossible: the continuous guidance of a small-caliber bullet to target."
Few details about the technology have been made public, but it involves special ammunition and an optical-guidance system that directs the bullets according to weather conditions, movement, and more. The idea is that it could help snipers battling difficult conditions, such as heavy winds in Afghanistan, and allow for quicker shots. Dunn calls making all this work in a .50-caliber bullet "a major breakthrough" and predicts advances in other sizes down the road. Though there may be concern about the technology reaching US streets, Popular Science notes that the weaponry will likely be way too expensive for private citizens. It isn't clear when the EXACTO technology will be used in the field. (DARPA is also working on how to fix our memories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
