So far, guns made by a company called TrackingPoint has been used only by wealthy hunters. The company makes weapons that have integrated electronic targeting system that can make a rookie shooter look like an experienced marksman. Now, the U.S. army has decided to buy several of these weapons to test their potential in combat.
With a price-tag of 27,000 dollars for apiece, TrackingPoint weapons are very pricy indeed. Conventional M4 rifle, for comparison, sells at about 700 dollar apiece, and M70 sniper rifle, which has been widely used by marines for last couple of decades, runs about 6,500 dollars apiece.
But like all high-tech weapons, its goal is not to be cheap but to hit its target at the first shot, which is crucial in battle conditions. To do that, the rifle uses an integrated computer that calculates everything needed for a perfect shot. Instead of traditional telescopic lens, this rifle uses a camera and a screen, where the shooter can see the target. Then the shooter marks the target and adjusts the rifle to align its crosshairs with the target. Numerous sensors mounted on the rifle measure all kinds of parameters, such as wind strength and direction, temperature, and others and feed them to the computer.
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It is still unclear whether the army will adopt the rifle and if they do, who will use it. Still, the prospect of future with point-and-click sniping is a terrifying one.
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