What navy would not want a two-foot-long GPS-guided bullet that can be fired from a gargantuan cannon built right into a warship?
Did you know that we already have bullets that can strike an enemy thirty miles away?
This new government project hopes to utilize the current artillery and rail guns aboard US warships, with just a minor tweaking: fast (5,600 mph), GPS-controlled, twenty plus pound bullets that can travel potentially hundreds of miles and strike with pinpoint accuracy.
Now I know what you are thinking: the second you go over seas and try to order a Persian rug duty-free the Navy will respond with the launch of a hyper-bullet to tear the fancy surface asunder. Well, you better pay duty (whatever that amounts to), taxes, and check with Customs . . . everywhere!
Announced on July 19, the new program is called Hyper Velocity Projectile, and plans to build on such successes as the 5” Mark 45 Mod guns that already reach farther than 30 miles.
Missiles could very well be going the extinct way of the dinosaurs, as these colossal bullets will be much cheaper and safer to produce in massive quantities.
The government proposal for the Hyper Velocity Project states that they “will explore technologies related to extended range guided projectiles for Naval Surface Fire Support and exploit recent advances in miniaturized electronics, guided projectiles and mortars, and warhead technology for small UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] launched munitions.” Well, we have the tiny chipsets and we certainly have the gunpowder!
Forget the drones, just take a long rail gun and electromagnetically fire a heavy bullet that is longer than an urn so that its 5,600 mph speed can bring it to the precise place a hundred miles away; then steer that bad boy around the children smashing matchbox cars in the front yard and hit the right target inside the kitchen window . . . BOOM!
