The rail gun is every high school
student’s dream machine. The only problem with it was that it consumed the
firing mechanism. Not much fun as a
weapon’s platform.
This work is now informing us
that this core problem has been overcome and perhaps we will get to know now
someday.
The result is a weapon system
that can now be mounted on a ship and perhaps someday on other mobile
platforms. Rapid rates of fire would
also be welcome.
Another application for this
weapon would be point defense of a city or base, particularly once the 200 mile
range is realized. Embedded sensing and
aerodynamic controls would be sufficient to intercept an incoming missile and
rapid fire could overwhelm even concentrated missile attack.
This can be a true successor of
the naval gun and we are seeing great technology been developed.
Navy to Begin Tests on Electromagnetic Railgun Prototype Launcher
Office of Naval Research
Corporate Strategic Communications
875 N. Randolph St., #1225-D
Office: (703) 696-5031
Fax: (703) 696-5940
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 6, 2012
By Grace Jean, Office of Naval Research
ARLINGTON, Va.—The Office
of Naval Research (ONR)’s Electromagnetic
(EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming
weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a
facility in Dahlgren, Va., officials said Feb. 6.
“This is the next step toward a future tactical system that will be
placed on board a ship some day,” said Roger Ellis, program manager of EM
Railgun.
The EM Railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that fires projectiles
using electricity instead of chemical propellants. Magnetic fields created by
high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature,
between two rails to launch projectiles at 4,500 mph to 5,600 mph.
With its increased velocity and extended range, the EM Railgun will
give Sailors a multi-mission capability, allowing them to conduct precise naval
surface fire support, or land strikes; cruise missile and ballistic missile
defense; and surface warfare to deter enemy vessels. Navy planners are
targeting a 50- to 100-nautical mile initial capability with expansion up to
220 nautical miles.
The EM Railgun program, part of ONR’s Naval
Air Warfare and Weapons Department, previously relied upon government
laboratory-based launchers for testing and advancing railgun technology. The
first industry-built launcher, a 32-megajoule prototype demonstrator made by
BAE Systems, arrived at Naval
Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren Jan. 30. One megajoule of
energy is equivalent to a 1-ton car traveling at 100 miles per hour.
“This industry prototype represents a step beyond our previous
successful demonstrations of the laboratory launcher,” Ellis said.
The prototype demonstrator incorporates advanced composites and
improved barrel life performance resulting from development efforts on the
laboratory systems located at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and NSWC-Dahlgren. The
EM Railgun laboratory demonstrator based at NSWC-Dahlgren fired a world record
setting 33-megajoule
shot in December 2010.
The industry demonstrator will begin test firing this month as the EM
Railgun program prepares for delivery of a second prototype launcher built by
General Atomics.
In the meantime, the Navy is pushing ahead with the next phase of the
EM Railgun program to develop automatic projectile loading systems and thermal
management systems to facilitate increased firing rates of the weapon.
“The next phase of the development effort is to demonstrate the ability
to operate at a firing rate of significant military utility,” Ellis said.
ONR recently awarded $10 million contracts through Naval Sea Systems
Command to Raytheon Corp., BAE Systems and General Atomics to develop a pulsed
power system for launching projectiles in rapid succession. These new contracts
kick off a five-year effort to achieve a firing rate of six to 10 rounds per
minute.
BAE Systems and General Atomics also are commencing concept development
work on the next-generation prototype EM Railgun capable of the desired firing
rate.
About the Office of Naval Research
The Department of the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) provides
the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps’
technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and
technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of
higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400
people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional
employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.
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