Weapons

Changing the Bullet’s Sound Signature

The US Pentagon wants to develop a quieter rifle bullet that will prevent the enemy from determining the location of the U.S. soldier who fired it. The defense administration seeks a technology that would reduce or change the sound signature, in terms of magnitude, frequency and/or duration, of a small caliber projectile through the use of active noise reduction methods, according to sbir.defensebusiness.org.

The Department of Defense research project, titled “Active Noise Control for Small Caliber Ammunition,” aims to apply advances in noise cancellation to the battlefield.

The Pentagon notes the possibility of dual-use applications for noise-canceling bullets, “including state/local governments, and commercial.” In addition, “Potential opportunities may exist to produce technologies which will reduce hearing loss in high-intensity sound environments.”