The smart bullet or Blam (Barrel Launched Adaptive Munition) can zigzag like a Cruise Missile, allowing it to negotiate corners.

A glob of polymer on its nose enables the projectile to stick to its target and radio home its position.

Officially, the target will be TNT rather than terrorists. But according to project director Ron Barrett, the technology may change the nature of war. The question is whether the Blam can be developed into an effective offensive tool like in the film Runaway. The possibility must make today's Storming Normans salivate because it means adversaries would have nowhere to hide.

Could it become a reality?

Like Lockheed spokesman Leslie Kramer, Loc Vu-Quoc, a member of the pioneering team, drew attention to the prototype's peaceful sniffer potential. Ducking the question, Mr Vu-Quoc said: 'The ball is now in Lockheed Martin's court.'

Duncan Long, the author of Combat Rifles of the 21st Century, cast doubt on whether any company had the know-how to make a lethal smart bullet. He said the US army was developing a 'smart' laser-operated grenade launcher (the OICW) with advanced tracking capabilities. The catch is that the grenade needs to be big to house its electronic fuse system and a packet of explosives.

'It is way too large for a pistol,' Mr Long said. Because of the difficulty of achieving miniaturisation, he doubted a smart offensive bullet would emerge in the near future.

History Channel hi-tech weaponry pundit Ned Barnett was more gung-ho. He said many of the technical hurdles surrounding Blam had been resolved - the man-computer interface had been solved, enabling the operator to designate a target point in three dimensions. Even so, he was not convinced of the promise of intelligent bullets.

'Like stealth helicopters, they might not make the jump from prototype to operational use,' he said.

The technology was not slick enough, he said. In the demos he saw, the Blam system relied on a computer stuffed in a backpack, which was wired to a helmet with special optical devices and then to the weapon.

'While the demonstration made it look easy to operate, I know the difference between a staged demo and a live-fire exercise,' Mr Barnett said.

Soldiers are weighed down by items ranging from grenades and Kevlar armour to family photos. Anything that added to the baggage, especially potentially delicate hi-tech equipment, was cumbersome, in his view.

Marching and embattled armies had a habit of leaving a trail of gear behind. Troops might abandon the trappings of Blam, he suggested.

Mr Vu-Quoc contested that Blam need not always be a burden: 'Of course, eventually, everything can be miniaturised. That's how you went from your large computer, to your PC, to your laptop and then to your palm [device].'

But that process took decades.

Perhaps, as Mr Long believes, the next step is a 'smart sight' system based on infrared or optical computerised cameras capable of spotting an enemy.

'This system would override the trigger so the soldier would aim in the general area of an enemy, pull the trigger and then move the gun about in a small circle until the scope located the target and then immediately fire while a hit was guaranteed,' he said.

Whatever technology triumphs, the days of mindlessly blasting away at the enemy look to be numbered.