France’s I-SMART Bullet: The Future of Guided Sniper Ammunition Unveiled at SOFINS 2025
At SOFINS 2025, the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) has revealed remarkable progress on a revolutionary defense technology: a 12.7 mm calibre guided sniper bullet. This breakthrough, known as the I-SMART (ISL Sniper Munition Actuated to Reach Target), is set to redefine the future of long-range marksmanship with unmatched precision and smart tracking capabilities.
A New Era for Sniper Precision
The I-SMART round represents a leap in sniper warfare by integrating advanced guidance electronics into a conventional 12.7×99 mm (.50 BMG) calibre bullet. The technology takes advantage of ISL’s prior developments in guided munitions, such as course-correcting artillery fuses and medium-calibre smart ammunition. But this time, the challenge is greater—the entire guidance system must be compacted into a projectile just 54 mm in length and 12.7 mm in diameter.
What makes this even more impressive is that the internal systems must survive the extreme forces of a gun firing—something that has historically limited the feasibility of guided small-calibre rounds.
Inside the I-SMART Guided Bullet
The I-SMART bullet is an intricate design composed of five main modules:
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Optical Sensor (in the tip) – Acts as the eye of the bullet, enabling terminal guidance in the final moments of flight.
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Navigation Electronics – Calculates the bullet's position and adjusts its course during flight.
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Power Supply – A compact energy source that keeps all electronics operational throughout the bullet’s travel.
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Actuation Mechanism – Aerodynamic fins or similar actuators that make real-time course corrections.
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Communications System – Allows the bullet to “talk” to a ground-based sniper system during flight.
Currently, guidance decisions are handled externally through a ground unit, but ISL intends to shift toward on-board autonomous navigation, reducing reliance on external systems and speeding up reaction time.
Performance That Redefines Accuracy
ISL’s goal with I-SMART is to achieve 50 meters of lateral correction at a range of 2,000 meters, effectively allowing the bullet to adjust in-flight and hit moving targets—even if they are traveling at 60 km/h. With an average flight time of around three seconds, such responsiveness would drastically increase hit probability and reduce the need for multiple shots or highly seasoned snipers.
This makes I-SMART not only a force multiplier for elite marksmen but also a tool that can help less experienced personnel deliver precise shots with minimal training, opening up possibilities for wider battlefield use.
A Global Perspective
Until now, only the United States and Russia have publicly worked on similar sniper-guided ammunition. The U.S. DARPA program, called EXACTO (Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance), demonstrated promising tests in 2015, but it never transitioned to a fielded product. Russia also explored a guided 12.7×108 mm round, although little is known about its current status.
Unlike these earlier efforts, France’s ISL is moving ahead with plans to reach Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL5) soon. This stage will mark a key milestone before the institute hands over the project to an industrial partner for full-scale development and manufacturing.
The Road Ahead
While no exact timeline has been announced for the final live-fire tests, the I-SMART project is being seen as a potential game-changer in the world of special operations and precision shooting. Once fully developed, it could not only boost the effectiveness of sniper teams but also change doctrines around how precision fire is used in combat.
In summary, the guided sniper bullet unveiled at SOFINS 2025 is more than just a technical feat—it is the future of precision warfare. With the I-SMART round, ISL is aiming to deliver not just bullets, but intelligent munitions that think and adapt mid-flight, hitting targets previously thought unreachable.
