New US Army Sniper Weapons System includes the iPod Touch

[rafaelc378]

Okay, now I've seen everything.

Bulletflight is an iPod Touch/iPhone App that acts as a ballistic computer for long range shooters of mainly Knight's Armament rifles, although you can manually add your own.

The KAC-M110 includes an iPod Touch encased in an Otterbox that is side-mounted to the rifle via a Picatinny Rail. Unit cost of the App is USD11.99 in the US App Store.

The sniper weapons system is being fielded in Iraq & Afghanistan by select US Army units as a complement & eventual replacement of the M24 SWS.

KAC Bulletflight App - KAC Website
The Firearm Blog - KAC-M110

[acnugteel]

This is a cool accessory for those who are trigger happy.

[Evan_Racing]

Wow, this is cool. I never thought that an iPod would even be used as a "weapon" or rather part of a weapon. He he.

@ Raf,

Btw, I've noticed the change in status. Congrats!

[dasaint]

Nice. But I doubt a sniper worth his salt would use this.

1st it will imbalance his weapon to the side its mounted to.
It would take more time to input the data rather then counting on his experience and training to take opportunity shots.
Then what the heck will his scout do?
Not to mention all the ribbing he 'll for relying on a computer for a shoot.

[coreofignorance]

i have to try this! ipod touch here i come

[rafaelc378]

@dasaint: I agree. The rifle seems to be missing a Harris Bipod to account for balance. I know that the CheyTac Intervention M200 SWS includes a ballistic computer that runs on Windows Mobile 2003. But it's not rifle mounted and is carried by the observer.

But it's an Apple so I'd take this, even if you have to remove the Touch from the mount. And make sure it's a touch and not an iPhone. I'd hate to have it start ringing while in a hide. Although it could be an enterprise version of the iPhone. The US Army was among those in the Enterprise/Developer Keynote for the iPhone last year at WWDC.

And regarding experience vs taking computations & taking ribbing for relying on a computer; whatever helps you make the shot is a benefit & makes you a better shot. But in my opinion this will not make a bad shooter into a good shooter. It will make a good shooter into a great shooter.

EDIT: My mistake. One of the pics on the Firearms Blog shows the M110 with a Harris Bipod Mounted on the underside Picatinny Rail. I didn't post that particular pic in my first post.

[raypin]

I think Philmug should buy one......for use against spammers

[zChris]

perhaps there should be screen brightness controls for night use. wont the brightness of the screen in a pitch black place give the location of the shooter away?

[hitme64]

still, the spotter is undoubtedly a better ally of a sniper than any computer, no matter how state-of-the-art it may be...

in sniper school, you don't bring along an ipod or iphone as your buddy...

this, however, may be true for lonejacks and hitmen who depend on no spotters to carry out their avowed task, so to speak

[johannes]

Can you listen to your favorite tunes while this app is on?

Hey, it's a valid iPod Touch/iPhone-related question...