Hi-tech grenade: selectively kills
At the moment, the technological level of equipping the troops has reached transcendental results. Modern armies already have grenades that hit underwater targets, spray gas, videotape or throw out tiny UAVs. But the US military engineers set themselves the task of creating a “smart” grenade of the latest generation. Ammunition watching the enemy, waiting for an opportunity for detonation, moreover, ensures that civilians do not fall into the affected area.
By making a request to the commercial sector, the Pentagon seeks to get a flying grenade-drone, capable, in the event of a threat to the civilian population or its soldiers, to interrupt their mission. Based on the name, “A Hovering Tube-Launched Micromunition”, we can conclude: the micro-ammunition will be planned and launched from the grenade launcher tube. Information about the launch method and caliber is currently missing. Presumably this will be a one-time small container, transport and launch, with a new "smart" ammunition, or, alternatively, an 40-mm caliber grenade for an under-barrel grenade launcher.
An interesting feature is the ability to control the trajectory of a grenade by an operator – shooter after it enters the planning mode. The range of the grenade is 965 meters, the time spent in a controlled flight 10 minutes. During planning, the operator has the opportunity to use a miniature day / infrared video camera to study the terrain and receive the GPS – coordinates of the selected target on the terminal screen.
In front of the troops having this type of weapon, interesting opportunities open up. Suppose there is a need to examine the room on the 14 floor. Launching a "smart" grenade, with the help of the camera, the operator studies the object and, if necessary, gives a command to destroy. According to its characteristics, this ammunition is very similar to Switchblade, but it has a much smaller size and its quick bringing into combat readiness.
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