A new $13,000 rifle from a Texas company can lock onto a target and guide bullets — at night.
Chambered in 7.62 mm, the TrackingPoint NightDragon is a kind of "super rifle" built on the AR-15 platform that comes with night vision capabilities, sophisticated software that "automatically acquires and tracks" a target, and a feature that records real-time video so, if one were so inclined, it could be shared later on Facebook.
The main feature of TrackingPoint's rifles are their ability to make a sniper out of just about anyone.
Expert long-range shooters need to make adjustments to their scopes that account for wind, distance, and the movement of the target. But the company has made rifles with scopes that do all of that automatically.
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So basically, a shooter aims, "tags" the target with a laser, and lines up with the tag. The rifle does the rest.
The NightDragon performs in a similar fashion to previous rifles during the day, able to lock onto a target up to 500 yards. With its new night vision capability, it can lock onto targets up to 200 yards away.
The rifle also can be hooked up to TrackingPoint's app and eyeglass combination, which allows a shooter to shoot around corners or over walls without being exposed. Think of it like blind fire, except you can actually see around that corner by using the eyeglasses.
The high-tech rifles likely have obvious military application. The company says on its website that "it is engaged with the military" but limited in what it can say. Still, the US Army bought at least six TrackingPoint scopes in 2014 for testing purposes.
The first 50 rifles are being sold for $12,995. After that, the price goes up to $15,490.
