This was once
an impossible dream and that was only fifty years ago. Now it is about to become operational. Of course it makes all other heavy gun
technology naval technology obsolete.
What is new of
course is that the Navy is really bragging about it. Up to now it has been terse news releases.
Thus the USA
Navy is reminding everyone that their Navy is cutting edge and will continue to
be for a long time.
It takes a
generation to build out a naval fleet to meet expectations. Otherwise you are sailing training vessels
and making brave speeches. National
sentiments to the contrary, this is not going to change soon.
Navy’s
New Railgun Can Hurl a Shell Over 5,000 MPH
04.09.14
The U.S. Navy is tapping the power of the
Force to wage war.
Its latest weapon is an electromagnetic railgun
launcher. It uses a form of electromagnetic energy known as the Lorentz force
to hurl a 23-pound projectile at speeds exceeding Mach 7. Engineers already
have tested this futuristic weapon on land, and the Navy plans to begin sea
trials aboard a Joint High Speed Vessel Millinocket in 2016.
“The electromagnetic railgun represents an
incredible new offensive capability for the U.S. Navy,” Rear Adm. Bryant
Fuller, the Navy’s chief engineer, said in a statement. “This capability will
allow us to effectively counter a wide range of threats at a relatively low
cost, while keeping our ships and sailors safer by removing the need to carry
as many high-explosive weapons.”
The massive railgun that needs just one
sailor to operate it relies on the electromagnetic energy of the Lorentz force—the
combination of electric and magnetic forces on a point charge—for power.
The Navy likes the weapon for several
reasons, not the least of which it has a range of 100 miles and doesn’t require
explosive warheads. That makes it far safer for sailors, and cheaper for
taxpayers. According to the Navy, each 18-inch projectile costs about $25,000,
compared to $500,000 to $1.5 million for conventional missiles.
“[It] will give our adversaries a huge
moment of pause to go: ‘Do I even want to go engage a naval ship?’” Rear
Admiral Matt Klunder told reporters. “Because you are going to lose. You could
throw anything at us, frankly, and the fact that we now can shoot a number of
these rounds at a very affordable cost, it’s my opinion that they don’t win.”
The Navy’s been talking about using railguns
for the past ten years. The Office of Naval Research launched a prototype
program in 2005, with an initial investment of $250 million committed through
2011. The Navy anticipates spending about that much more by 2017.
Of course the Army is interested in having
one too, and the Pentagon is in general interested in many aspects of the
technology. In July, the Navy will display the electromagnetic railgun
prototype at San Diego Naval Base.
“Frankly, we think it might be the right time
for them to know what we’ve been doing behind closed doors in a Star Wars
fashion,” said Klunder. “It’s now reality. It’s not science fiction. It’s real
and you can look at it.”
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