World’s First Laser-Guided ­Bullet From Engineers At Sandia National Laboratories

Engineering the world's first laser-guided smart bullet that is ready to blow up your target to smithereens, is the one-of-a-kind work of two researchers from Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque. Sandia's engineers, Red Jones and Brian Kast and their colleagues, have developed a four-inch-long bullet that has an optical sensor in the nose to detect a laser beam on a target. The sensor sends information to guidance and control electronics that use an algorithm in an eight-bit central processing unit to command electromagnetic actuators. These actuators steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.

The news of smart bullet’s development first surfaced in January. Recently, #-Link-Snipped-# is wrapping up prototype tests and actively seeking a commercial partner to turn out field-ready bullets.


A tiny light-emitting diode, or LED, attached to a self-guided bullet at Sandia National Laboratories shows a bright path during a nighttime field test that proved the battery and electronics could survive the bullet's launch.

When bullets are shot from rifles, they fly straight because of the spinning due to grooves. So, to enable a bullet to turn in flight toward a target, the spin has to go. The engineers have developed an aerodynamically stable design protoype to make the bullet fly like a dart. It does not require a device found in guided missiles called an inertial measuring unit, which would have added substantially to its cost.



The engineers have also filmed high-speed video of the bullet radically pitching as it exited the barrel. The bullet pitches less as it flies down range, a phenomenon known to long-range firearms experts as “going to sleep.” More details about this project can be found #-Link-Snipped-#. Check out the video too -