Coming Next Year: Darpa’s Super Sniper Scope - 6:30 AM Consider
this scenario. A sniper guarding the Olympic Stadium spots a man
pulling out a gun. In less than a minute, the man could kill or
injure dozens. But the sniper is too far away for a simple shot.
To hit the gunman and save lives, the sniper will need to factor
a maddeningly complex set of variables. It’s not easy. Which is
why the Pentagon’s far-out researchers at Darpa have been
working on laser-emitting targeting computers for America’s
snipers. The goal is to reduce the number of calculations the
sniper and his teammate — a spotter — have to do before they can
make an accurate shot. Darpa also wants to build the devices
small enough to simply clip onto a rifle, making the spotter
optional and turning the sharpshooter into a super sniper. On
Wednesday, Darpa awarded a $6 million contract to Cubic
Corporation’s defense division to develop the device, called the
One Shot XG. The company couldn’t respond by press time, but
according to Darpa’s solic