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Sniping Could Be the Next Killer iPod App
An anonymous Coward writes "Knights Armament Corp. who supply sniper rifles to the US military have developed a iPod Touch mounting system and software for the US Army M110 sniper rifle system. The use of off the shelf hardware no doubt cut costs and allowed rapid development of this system." If it automatically played a theme song after every head shot, this would be the coolest rifle accessory ever.
Forget my aimpoint and NV gear...hook me up with the FLIR-enabled Ipod!
MMMONSTER KILL
Photo face recognition can help you identify who you just shot!
So this really is a killer app...
The Knights Armaments page on both the software and the mounting system.
Really allows you to reach out and touch someone with your iphone.
Test your net with Netalyzr
If it automatically played a theme song after every head shot, this would be the coolest rifle accessory ever.
Am I the only one who found this attempt at humor disturbing and objectionable?
(And yes, I know my comment will get me modded down, but I strongly doubt I'm alone in thinking a real life killing is quite different from killing in an FPS.)
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
The military was the last bastion of "pen and paper" score tracking. Thanks to Apple's great products and a little ingenuity, the DoD finally has a tool to automatically keep track of scores. All we need now is a database for it to upload to automatically via wireless, and we can have a global real-time kill count and score!
Crackin' Wise - Blogging about whatever we want
Now in the middle of a "situation", snipers will get a "you have already authorized this iPod on 5 sniper rifles" error...
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." --H.L. Mencken
No, I think that was just ESR making sure he gets his order in...
My blog
This should help not just snipers but hunters and perhaps some day main force ground troops. At the listed link, the article's author states that the application software is available at the iTunes store. Contrary to some stories on the 'net, it is a general rifle ballistics application that allows someone to enter a different rifle and ammunition profile. So it's good for less specialized rifles, and not just the M110.
The article didn't mention the availability of the mounting hardware. It attaches an iPod Touch mounted in an Otterbox protective case to a side-mounted picatinny rail. That seems much more handy in combat situations than digging an iPod out of one's pocket. This is what makes it not just another ballistics app for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Mounting it on the rifle could be a big deal in certain situations, and lots of rifles can be fitted with picatinny rails on the side.
.. I thought it would be an article about sniping eBay bids at the last second from my iPod.
Slashdot's name? When my compiler sees
So much for "Don't ask, don't tell."
My eastern-european friends didn't like being sent cryptically named .wav files containing the Starcraft audio "WE REQUIRE MORE VESPENE GAS", either.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
And now you can shoot from the "hip"
1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
Seems like it would be a problem w/r/t revealing the sniper's position.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
.... To point out this YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXh3EfX_CqA&eurl=http://video.google.ca/videosearch?q=igun&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=&feature=player_embedded
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
Because what every sniper needs is to have his face lit up when he's trying to remain hidden.
But they are charging an arm and a leg for the wifi seeking missiles they are selling to our enemies.
1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
I doubt it'd be used much in the field, at least not without some heavy modification to the iPod. I can't imagine it's resilient enough to meat mil-spec standards off-the-shelf. Once it's out there, I'd bet the spotter uses it more to get rapid numbers to feed to the shooter than the shooter uses it. The spotter can keep it mostly concealed and hide the light.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
This is just the beginning. Next thing we know, we'll be seeing WMDs with Apple logos on them. I see it now: the iBomb (tm)
Computing ballistics in the field has been an ongoing issue for long-range shooters, as determining the required elevation & windage settings for precision shots depends heavily on a variety of factors (wind speed, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, bullet weight, ballistic coefficient, barrel length, powder burn rate, barrel twist, target angle, distance, and even latitude & direction). Until recently, sharpshooters/snipers addressed the problem by computing ballistics tables ahead of time, memorizing or taking paper copies into the field, developing a reliable "gut feel", and even using specialized slide rules (ex.: Mil-Dot Master); only recently have portable computers been adapted or built (Palm Pilot, Barrett BORS) to improve situational accuracy. Bringing the iPod Touch into the picture via a convenient mounting system allows tremendous improvement & flexibility in creating applications to solve ballistics problems, as there are already at least 3 apps available, and both professionals & hobbists can easily develop their own apps. That this mounting system is provided by Knights Armament, a well-respected name in high-quality small arms, helps as well.
Those with snide remarks should be aware that (A) this is legitimately needed by military and police to keep your life safe and comfortable, and (B) long-range target shooting is a legitimate and popular sport.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Actually this should be played http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2b1D5w82yU
Do you calibrate its accuracy like a touchscreen and a stylus? Except with live human heads?
You never expect irony, do you?
Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
@iyfwrestling
I'd consider them blessed that they don't know how it feels afterward, or have the sleepless nights that come with it, or the hot ball of sour sickness that tightens in your gut every time you come under fire.
They may be ignorant, but it is not a failing, just the naivete of youth and living a privileged existence even if it is in very bad taste. In a better world, no one would have to know what it is like.
There are some exceedingly grim jobs in the military.
Some folks never talk about it.
Some folks talk about it.
Some folks become very detached about what they do.
Some folks develop a grim/dark sense of humor.
Don't call someone a cretin or a sociopath because of their coping mechanism. It doesn't mean they enjoy it.
You mad
But I thought Apple was more protective of its branding to an extent of not allowing its computers to be depicted in movies as killing people for example. This application is available from the iTunes store for $11.99; I would have thought Apple would refuse to carry it and they'd have to use hacked devices to run it.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Um..you are all wrong:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TDgkOOlbwg
Rage Against The Machine - Bullet In The Head
superman runs linux
So obviously there are some pretty funny comments on this, and some incredulous "why?" or "won't this give away a snipers position?" posts as well.
To address the latter: /. community can appreciate, projectile ballistics isn't as simple as a game; The hardest I've seen in a game is "move the crosshair around to simulate breathing" Obviously, its more difficult than this, or *everyone* at war would be sitting back at 1200 meters, sniping from safety.
As most of the
When you get into precision shooting, you need to take into account so many factors, it boggles the mind. Muzzle velocity, wind (and wind isn't constant at the point of your muzzle and where the target is, humidity, bullet mass and aerodynamics, barrel twist rate, etc. This ballistics computer helps you input that data, and will spit out how you need to adjust your crosshair to account for all this stuff.
A system like this would also make it easy to log past shot data, which is very important for precision shooters.
I've seen wrist-watch ballistics computers as well; beats the crap out of charts.
As for when it would be used:
In training.
In competitions.
By police snipers in some situations (where, perhaps, concealment isn't important, but getting that first cold-barrel shot exactly on target is.)
By a sniper's spotter, perhaps.
disclaimer: despite my username, I'm not military, nor am I a precision shooter; i've merely had experience shooting as a major hobby.
-- My Sig is a P228.
Depends on the round they're using, and the rifle's setup/weight. A heavy rifle chambered in something smaller (like the 6.8 Remington SPC for example, which has been gaining some favor with the military brass, though it likely doesn't have quite the range for sniper duty) with a muzzle brake can be pretty light recoiling. Certainly light enough that it wouldn't damage anything that used solid state storage.
Problem is that the muzzle brake tends to make a rifle insanely loud. What the sniper gains in reduced recoil probably wouldn't be worth it.
If you use something like 5.56 NATO though (which is the standard infantry round - not normally used for military sniper applications but it's commercial equivalent the .223 Winchester was what was used by the DC snipers several years back), then it's light enough that you wouldn't even need a brake to reduce the recoil.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Coping mechanisms aren't formed when someone does a 'wrong' action, merely a stressful one. How many people in high stress jobs have a drinking or drug problem as their coping mechanism?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_skill
In a normal circumstances I will probably not be exposed to a situation where I will have to kill someone. However, if I'm the victim of a mugging gone bad and I have to kill him or he will kill me, believe that's what will happen. There is no sense of right or wrong, merely that I must survive. It will probably be stressful afterwards, and I will probably adapt dark humor to avoid thinking about it.
And thank you for showing you have no concept of how military chain of command and subordination works.
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
You've got the Touch! You've got the power!
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Well, for reliable sniping at 1000 yards you will want something ballistically superior to the 7.62x51 NATO (.308 Winchester) round/M110 package. .308 Win. bullet transitions from supersonic to subsonic around 625-700 yards, causing the bullet to become unstable and seriously degrading accuracy to unacceptable levels for a sniper/target shooter.
The
That's what the cartridge/rifle packages in the 7mm-8mm magnums (which includes the venerable .300 Winchester and Weatherby Magnums) are best suited for, which cover 1000 yards quite nicely. :-)
Over 1500-1600 yards is the realm of the BMG .50 caliber/rifle packages.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Export version for the Israeli army.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
if i enjoyed it, i'm a sociopath
Your problem is that you're holding on to outdated views of that some people are "normal" and others are not. Psychology has done away with that a long time ago. Nobody is "normal".
Now we only consider something to be a disorder if it interferes with the normal life of the person in question. It doesn't matter if a soldier is ecstatic after killing others in battle, as long as he never has the need to "get that feeling again" and starts considering killing people he's not supposed to. That would be interfering with his normal life, and he would be a psychopath.
On the other hand, if a soldier gets excited and a sense of adventure in battle, but is completely normal in order circumstances while another is completely distraught at having killed and has nightmares every day since, the person with a disorder is the one that is distraught (its interfering with his life). The one who got excited and giddy and has now adapted just fine to his life after service is perfectly healthy.
Actually, a .308 Winchester with the 175gr BTHP (Sierra Match King) bullet can still be supersonic at 1000 yards.
With a muzzle velocity of at least 2650 feet per second, the Sierra MK 30cal 175gr bullet will make it out to and slightly beyond 1000 before it goes subsonic. It has a ballistic coefficient of .495-.505.
The 175gr is the standard bullet used on the US military M118LR 'sniper' round. M118 being the military designator for the ammo, 'LR' meaning Long Range.
You can even get a 22 caliber bullet in a .223 Remington (5.56 NATO) out to a 1000 yards maintaining supersonic flight. While many still use the .308 for 1000 yard Service Rifle competition, the AR15 platform in .223 has taken the Farr Trophy (US National Trophy for 1000 yard Service Rifle). This is accomplished by using an 80gr or heavier bullet. The Sierra Match King 22cal (.224") 80gr BTHP is popular, but the Very Low Drag bullets like the Berger 80gr VLD have a much higher ballistic coefficient and can buck the wind better.
Thanks for the update. .308/.30-06) since it fell in the 'dum-dum' expanding projectile category.
When I was in (US Army 1977-1980), we were restricted to either standard ball(used mostly for practice), and Lake City Match ammo(recommended). We could not use the Sierra Match King bullet(my personal favorite for the
Also at that time there were no 5.56 NATO (.223) cartridge/rifle packages that could stay supersonic to 1000 yards.
With the .223, the MEKR (Maximum Effective Killing Range) was 400 meters paired with the M-16.(the only weapon issued for this round at that time)
The MEKR for the .308 was 800 meters in the M-24 and M-14, but extended to 1000 meters used in the M-60 SAW.
The way it broke down for us: .308 Win. .300 Win. Magnum (IIRC, a 180gr.BTSP-can't recall the MV)
0-700 yards=
600-1500 yards=
1400+ yards= clamp the Unertl to a M2 HB BMG
Note: I was deliberately sticking to Mil-Spec/issue ammo/rifle combo's, but was aware of the possibility to handload non-Mil-Spec bullets to velocities to acheive 1000+ yard supersonic flight.
I shot competitively in the 1970-early 1990's, also shot on the US Army rifle team, and handloaded my own civilian rounds for competition, fun, and sport.
"...the AR15 platform in .223 has taken the Farr Trophy..."
What rate of twist is used in this barrel?
Again, thanks for the update. I had no idea I was this far out of date! Gotta go now, interesting research on this subject needs done ASAP! And yes, yes, lots of field trials. :-)
*I think I hear my bank account sobbing*
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
For sniping regular run of the mill soldiers, the perfect sniping shot is thru both butt cheeks.
Requires 1-2 soldiers to carry guy off the field, and to provide more targets perhaps.
Requires medical care from limited medical staff like surgeons to remove the clothing,etc pushed into the wound.
Soldier will not be returning to the field anytime soon.
Best shot for depletion of enemy resources.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling