Army Sniper in Afghanistan

Applied Ballistics Wins R&D Contract to Develop Extreme Long-Range Sniper Capability

The Michigan-based Applied Ballistics LLC have been awarded a research and development contract to work on Advance Extreme Long-Range Sniper Capability for the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO).

The CTTSO’s mission is to identify and develop “capabilities to combat terrorism and irregular adversaries and to deliver these capabilities to DoD components and interagency partners” this is done “through rapid research and development, advanced studies and technical innovation, and provision of support to U.S. military operations.”

Applied Ballistics describe themselves as a precision shooting tech company which develop products and training packages for long range shooting. “The results of our work are passed on to the government and shooting communities through clear and helpful instructional materials, as well as easy-to-use ballistic software running on many products.”

The $1.3 million contract awarded by the CTTSO will see Applied Ballistics carry out Phase 1 of the Extreme Sniper Strike Operations (ESSO) project. ESSO is outlined in a press release:

“Phase 1 of the ESSO project is focused on advancing the predictive capabilities of modern ballistic solvers by performing Doppler radar measurement and modeling of current service rounds at Extreme Long Range (ELR) as a function of gyroscopic stability, and refining the models of secondary ballistic effects such as spin rate decay and spin drift at ELR.  Phase 1 will conclude with the ballistic modeling enhancements being integrated into the existing Applied Ballistics ecosystem of electronic devices which are currently deployed by numerous US and allied armed forces around the world.  Phase 1 is scheduled for completion in late 2018.

Phase 2 of the ESSO project is a potential follow on (2019) that focuses on the development and fielding of an advanced ELR sniper rifle system designed to drastically increase first round hit probability at ELR on man sized targets.  The Applied Ballistics Weapons Division is currently conducting research and development on weapons platforms, as well as new cartridge and bullet options, that will maximize ELR ballistic performance from lightweight, practical, magazine fed systems.

Bryan Litz, owner of Applied Ballistics LLC, said: “Our team of Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Science Engineers and Technicians will apply our combined experience including years of testing and competing in ELR Shooting to the successful completion of the ESSO program objectives.  This means extending the maximum effective range of US and allied snipers, achieving decisive overmatch on the battlefield.  I can’t imagine a better application of Applied Ballistics’ collective efforts.”

 For more information, visit Applied Ballistics’ website.