Interesting..
Two points -
1) There is a military grade 50 caliber bullet being developed that is shot with a SMOOTH bore barrel. This bullet then deploys very small fins to track into it's target while in flight. The hit rate is well over 90% in trials. You pick what you want to hit, pull the trigger, and 90% of the time you get a hit. That is pretty damn amazing for a first run trial.
2) While that weapon is pretty cool. It is very rare (and for all the WRONG reasons) that the US Military will ever use "the best equipment" out there. Case in point, just look at all the soldiers that had to ditch the 50 year old flak jackets and purchase with their own case Dragon Skin Body Armor. The armor was shown in private testing to be FAR superior in multiple strike tests (ie IED's, being shot twice in the same general area) but... when the Army and the Airforce tested these units mysteriously they were not up to standards and banned in favor of the older body armor. And of course the results are classified. The US has much the same track record with rifles and other weapons. The M16A2,3,4 all are known to be VERY touchy when dirty, wet, greasy, etc... (AKA most battle scenarios).... However, even with better operating weapons on the market, the US never switches.
Why?
I bet many of you already know why. Good ol' Capitalism. =/
And to think that our soliders are set on missions to "defend" the American way of life.
The same way of life that doesn't give them the best weapons or the best armor.
Sure we have a lot of hi-tech toys... but the basic salt of the earth 11B Infantry never sees more than his body armor and his rifle.
