#Electronics

At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Korean optics maker DI Optical was showing off many of their familiar products, but also had on display an interesting looking rifle attachment from a company called Jammer Korea. The attachment, named the “DRONE SNIPER”, is a familiar multi-frequency radio jammer, but in a slick underbarrel package that weighs much less than current standalone launchers.

It’s no secret that the field of war is changing, and that fact is just as true for the infantryman as it is the F-35 Lightning II pilot. Increasingly, small, inexpensive, expendable drones are being used as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, as well as delivery platforms for light ordnance as well as kamikaze weapons. Today, the use of drones in this manner is in its infancy, but the next generation of purpose-built light combat drones is being designed and built right now. Israeli firms like Duke Robotics and UVision have already created armed and kamikaze (respectively) drone systems, and combatants in the Iraqi and Syrian Civil Wars famously used drones as delivery platforms for 40mm grenades. The use of civilian light drones as “snooping” devices has already spurred the development of anti-drone weapons for security forces, including both electromagnetic “rifles” that zap drones to take control of them, as well as more crude (but still effective) anti-drone shotgun payloads.

Australian technology company Kord Defense has been awarded an 18-month, $2.25 million United States Marine Corps developmental contract for development and production of a Rifle Accessory Control Unit (RACU), which would attach to existing M4 Carbines and M27 IARs and allow control the rifle’s accessories from one grip. ZDNet reports:

The various uber-popular first-person shooter franchises are a hoot to play. While yes, they certainly lack realism despite being based on reality, it’s enjoyable to spend an afternoon being lost in a story and being able to vicariously shoot many firearms that its not possible to own. To keep campaigns to an afternoon and avoid player frustration many of these games feature “auto aiming” in some form that as you look down the sights, the game moves the reticle to center mass ready for the digital trigger pull.

Politics of “smart” guns aside, it is fascinating to see the technological developments that are being proposed or currently in production. From precision “guided” firearms (Tracking Point) to new GPS location-aware and cloud connected firearms, the (long-term) future of firearms likely includes electronics in some form. Firearms are one of the few products that are yet to be significantly enhanced by on-board electronics due to their small size and recoil.

Meghan Neal at Vice.com laments the fact that nobody appears interested in buying so-called “smart guns”. Her theory is that consumers want to own “smart guns” but the industry has no interest in selling them. She believes they will save lives (a strange policy for a website that  is dedicated to, and engages in, incredibly unsafe behavior). She wrote …