Pflugerville, Texas, Dec. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Utilizing TrackingPoint precision-guided firearms, Taya Kyle, a novice shooter, defeated NRA World Shooting Champion Bruce Piatt in the American Sniper Shootout. Bruce Piatt utilized the same weapons our soldiers use in combat today. The event served to raise money for the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation and demonstrated the superior effectiveness of TrackingPoint's precision-guided firearms. Taya Kyle hit 100% of her shots for an aggregate score of 10,140 points while Bruce Piatt made 58.6% of his shots for an aggregate score of 3,080 points. Shot scoring was weighted based on degree of difficulty.
"TrackingPoint precision-guided firearms are a stunning leap forward. If our soldiers had TrackingPoint weapons, lives would be saved and the world would be a much safer place," said Taya Kyle. "Our first responders and military members face situations most of us cannot imagine. They need every advantage for precision and efficiency to protect and serve while minimizing collateral damage and risk to themselves."
Kyle goes on to say, "I am passionate about getting the TrackingPoint guns into our warrior's hands. They are willing to give their lives for us; the least we can do is give them our very best in that fight."
According to World Shooting Champion Bruce Piatt, "The technology in the TrackingPoint system became shockingly obvious when a novice shooter like Taya Kyle was able to complete the American Sniper Shootout without a miss. Just imagine if these were in the hands of our police and military units. I wish they were available when I was wearing a badge and coordinating the SWAT team."
The company's precision-guided firearms are based on fighter jet lock-and-launch technology. "For the most part our military has modernized in the last 100 years," said John McHale, TrackingPoint's CEO. "The Navy has gone from sailing ships to aircraft carriers, and the Air Force has gone from prop planes to supersonic fighter jets. Meanwhile the Army is still fighting with guns that are the equivalent of prop planes. It's time they upgraded to fighter jets," said McHale.
The contest was divided into three specific rifle competitions; service rifle, designated marksman, and sniper. In addition to winning the aggregate score, she also won each individual rifle competition. Taya used TrackingPoint's new auto-locking squad-level precision-fire M600, M800, and XS1 precision-guide firearms. Bruce used the army's M4A1, M110, and M2010 rifles.
The competition was an extremely challenging real-war scenario with explosions, simulated fire and other battle stressors. Most military shooting training is done in benign environments and does not typically include battle stressors. Shots taken were the same types of shots taken in war. Shots on static and moving targets were taken from prone, standing, kneeling, canted, and fully concealed positions ranging from 150 yards to 1000 yards in distance. Just as in war, the targets were at unknown distances and moved at unknown velocities. Bruce Piatt was permitted to use a range finder in the sniper competition.
In the fully concealed portion of the event, Taya Kyle was able to hit 100% of all shots taken from a fully protected position using TrackingPoint's ShotGlasstm wearable glasses. With ShotGlasstm the shooter can see the scope view without having their head or body behind the gun, allowing the shooter to make shots over walls or around corners without exposure to enemy fire. Bruce Piatt was unable to make any shots from fully protected positions.
| Taya | Score | Bruce | Score | |
| Service Rifle | M600 | 1900 | M4A1 | 500 |
| Designated Marksman Rifle | M800 | 3240 | M110 | 940 |
| Sniper Rifle | XS1 | 5000 | M2010 | 1640 |
| Aggregate | 10,140 | 3,080 |
The results showed the dramatic difference between today's military rifles and TrackingPoint's precision-guided firearms. With current military weapons such as those shot by Bruce Piatt, the company estimates that a typical fully trained enlistee would score service rifle 1.2%, Designated Marksman 6.2%, and operational snipers 22.3%. By comparison Taya Kyle, a novice shooter, scored 100% in each of these categories after only 4.5 hours of training. The company projects that all soldiers of any level would score 100% in this very difficult simulated war scenario if they shot TrackingPoint guns rather than what they are issued today. Said differently, with only 4.5 hours of training all 1,000,000 soldiers, even new enlistees, would easily outshoot the best snipers that ever lived.
The company also estimates that if the military utilized TrackingPoint guns, $3.2 billion dollars would be saved annually in training and ammunition costs. The company approximates that if precision-guided firearms had been available in the Iraq war, over 1,000 casualties would have been prevented based on substantial squad overmatch capabilities and significantly extended battle stand-off distances.
About TrackingPoint
TrackingPoint, based in Austin, Texas, created the first Precision-Guided Firearm, a revolutionary new shooting system that puts fighter jet lock-and-launch technology in small arms, enabling shooters to make shots previously considered beyond human ability. To learn more, visit www.tracking-point.com.
About Chris Kyle Frog Foundation
The mission of the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation is to serve those who serve us by providing meaningful, interactive experiences that enrich family relationships. The CKFF achieves this through experiences that provide time and space to reconnect after deployment without the distractions of everyday life, power to return to the "family unit," and new common ground after military involvement. For more information, visit www.chriskylefrogfoundation.org
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