00:00 During World War II, the British military discovered the need for more accurate bombing, leading to the development of precision munitions.

02:25 The Norden Bombsite, despite its high cost and supposed accuracy, was not able to hit its intended targets with precision during World War II.

04:13 The Germans developed radio-controlled bombs with an accuracy of about 91 meters, which was better than what the Allies could achieve with a bombsite, but the initial attempts were not successful.

05:55 The development of precision munitions began with air-to-air missiles and evolved to include laser-guided bombs, which were expensive but more accurate than traditional bombs.

07:46 The first major use of smart weapons was in the 1991 Gulf War, where smart laser-guided weapons made up about 9% of all the bombs dropped and were 35 times more effective than dumb bombs, although the actual success rate of hitting targets is difficult to verify.

09:32 Precision munitions have become so accurate that there are now bombs with no explosives, such as the R9X Ninja Bomb, which uses metal blades for extreme pinpoint accuracy, and there are also guided projectiles for cannons, like the M982X caliber 155mm guided artillery shell, which can hit a small target area from a long range, although they are expensive; furthermore, there are rumors of guided bullets, including a 50 caliber guided bullet designed by DARPA that could be used by snipers.

11:31 Precision munitions are increasing in number and are being adopted by more countries, reducing collateral damage and unexploded ordnance, although they are still expensive, but as computing costs decrease, the prices of these systems will likely follow suit, and they have revolutionized military innovation in the last 50 years.