Are Self Guided Bullets A Revolution In Military Affairs?

All technology has limitations

With the current technology we have, the upper limits of what our best snipers can consistently hit is currently about 1,800 meters. That is if they have a solid 300 WINMAG rifle, the latest updates to Todd Hodnett's military grade ballistic programing, a kestrel, a high quality scope with the Tremor 2 or H59 reticule or newer, and an excellent spotter. The ammunition runs about $75 dollars for a box of 20 rounds and it takes a great deal of skill and training to achieve consistent hits at that range. It is estimated that snipers will be able to consistently hit at 2,000 meters within the next five years, but that requires a few technology upgrades currently in development and upgrading to a .338 Lapua round (significantly more expensive per round and extremely hard on the rifles).

I've been following this program and supposedly they can take someone with no experience and get them shooting at targets that are at or well beyond what the average sniper can hit (1,200-1,500 meters with a .300 WINMAG rifle). Currently, the school that produces the military's best snipers has an allotment of 1,200 rounds of .300 WINMAG per student (about $4,500). The school only graduates around 100 snipers a year and the ones who go on to consistently hit at 1,800 meters generally fire hundreds of rounds per year to maintain proficiency. The rifles and all the accessories runs the government around $12,000. Across all the services, there are only a few hundred who can hit at 1,800 meters.

All that said, while it may seem like a small jump from 1,800-2,000 meters, this is a huge jump in capability because this can be achieved consistently by a larger population of shooters. While we have shooters that can hit beyond 2,000 meters right now, they are usually shooting a .50 cal sniper rifle, are highly talented, take the shot under ideal conditions that rarely present themselves, and most importantly, they cannot consistently replicate the shot.

I'll bet they are expensive little buggers but the Price per Unit will come down the longer they are around and the more of them produced. Right now I'm sure the Manufacturer is milking that government contract for everything he can though.