---
title: "The US Army’s Next Rifle May Use Facial Recognition"
description: "The Army is accepting bids from contractors to build a rifle that could automatically targets and scan them with facial recognition."
date: "2019-06-03"
modified: "2019-06-03"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-army-facial-recognition-rifle"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Facial recognition"
tags:
  - "army"
  - "facial recognition"
  - "military"
  - "the digest"
---

# The US Army’s Next Rifle May Use Facial Recognition

![The Army is accepting bids from contractors to build a rifle that could automatically targets and scan them with facial recognition.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/us-army-facial-recognition-rifle.png>)
*\<em\>Image: David Overson/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Point And Shoot

The U.S. Army wants guns that wait to fire until they see the whites of the enemy's eyes.

At least, it put out a call for contractors to develop next-generation rifles that come equipped with facial recognition and automatic targeting software, [according to *Military.com*](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/06/01/armys-next-infantry-weapon-could-have-facial-recognition-technology.html>). The new software could help make soldiers more precise and effective in combat — though it remains unclear how the Army expects to deploy the mind-bending [symbiosis of humanity and machines](<https://futurism.com/military-full-body-sarcos-exoskeleton>).

## Bidding War

Bidding contractors have a chance to win a five-year contract so they can develop a prototype of the rifle, which *Military.com* reports should provide wireless communication systems, wind trackers, and advanced [targeting capabilities](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-military-augmented-reality-night-vision-goggles>) that increase "the soldier's ability to rapidly engage man-sized targets out to 600 \[meters\] or greater while maintaining the ability to conduct Close Quarters Battle."

Within three years, the Army hopes to deploy thousands of these new facial recognition-equipped rifles, which according to plan will come in both semi- and fully-automatic versions.

One could imagine how the use of facial recognition could prevent soldiers from shooting civilians or making other mistakes — but questions remain on how the facial recognition system will be developed and who it will be able to recognize.

**READ MORE:** [Army’s Next Infantry Weapon Could Have Facial-Recognition Technology](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/06/01/armys-next-infantry-weapon-could-have-facial-recognition-technology.html>) \[*Military.com*\]

**More on military tech:** *[Scammed: US Military Spent $20M on Fake Gear Made in China](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/fake-military-gear-china>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)