U.S. Special Forces Are Developing An Underwater Bullet

Popular Mechanics: U.S. Special Forces Take Huge Step Toward Developing an Underwater Bullet

New “supercavitating” bullets could allow SEALs, others to shoot targets underwater.

* Traditional bullets quickly slow to a stop underwater, making the almost completely ineffective..
* A method known as “supercavitation” can allow objects to travel through water at much higher speeds.
* These bullets would work with existing weapons and could make special forces even more lethal.

A new line of specialized bullets could allow U.S. special forces personnel to shoot their weapons submerged, engaging other divers and their underwater vehicles. While traditional bullets are ineffective underwater, the new bullets work by forming a bubble of air around a bullet, allowing the bullet to travel with fewer physical restrictions.

Ordinary bullets are designed to travel through the air at speeds greater than half a mile per second. Traveling through a different medium, well, that’s a different story. Bullets rapidly slow to a stop once they enter another medium—that’s a feature, not a flaw.

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WNU Editor: The Americans are playing catch-up. The Russian military has been working on this tech for years .... Underwater Firearms Are a Thing, and Russia Is Really Into Them (War Is Boring).

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