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US Navy Tests Supersonic Heavy Gun Firing Magnetically-Propelled Shells @ Mach 7
Reaganite Republican ^
| March 2, 2012
| Reaganite Republican
Posted on 03/02/2012 5:28:46 AM PST by Reaganite Republican
British multinational BAE Systems has developed a functioning prototype of a new artillery piece for the US Navy's testing purposes, and what it does is propel a specially-designed shell to high supersonic velocities (cca 5600 mph) via powerful magnetic rails. At Mach 7, the projectile arrives almost three times as fast as the Navy's current big guns can deliver one, and at an astonishing range of 50-100 nautical miles (!) The new technology is now undergoing testing in Virginia.
Considering that today's naval artillery can reach only about
15 mi -and that long-range cruise missiles poke-along at a leisurely 550mph- it's easy to see how the daunting new weapon is already being called 'a game-changer'. Other uses quickly come to mind, such as the land, air, of sea based missile-defense systems for which it seems manifestly suited: paired to real-time drone/satellite intelligence and laser-guidance, there's not much a handful of these couldn't stop.
Some experts feel the new gun wouldn't even need to employ explosive shells, as a 40' chunk of metal arriving at over five thousand miles per hour should obliterate pretty much anything that happens to be sitting on Point B:
The USN has already spent seven years and $200M+ on development, with further funding still at the whim of the current US administration, be it a new Republican WH or -heaven forbid- another 4 years of steep decline under the Obammunists.
A second variation on the theme is about to be delivered to the Navy by competing contractor General Atomics. , and while the (first) BAE gun seems to be performing well as a weapon, residual engineering challenges mostly concern building practical durability into such a mind-bogglingly powerful device... a task that is likely to take a few more years. Various cooling systems are being experimented with at this point in the development cycle, the goal being a capability of 10 rounds/min without melting the hyper-stressed barrel... at a range of up to 200 nautical miles (!)
This of course comes at a perfect time for the US, as China seems determined to build a blue-water navy to challenge American naval supremacy, missile proliferation continues to run rampant, and the Iranian Navy -as always- could use a sinkin.
Yet hard to believe Obama hasn't tried to cancel this thing yet-
so noisy, unpleasant, polluting, and just mean... who needs that
_______________________________________________
TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans; Politics; Science
KEYWORDS: artillery; navy; supergun; supersonic
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To: ken5050
To: Reaganite Republican
Wow! How many Gs do you suppose that shell endures to reach that kind of velocity in that short of distance? It must create one hell of a kick too!
Mike
3
posted on
03/02/2012 5:33:36 AM PST
by
MichaelP
(The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools ~HS)
To: Reaganite Republican
Wow! How many Gs do you suppose that shell endures to reach that kind of velocity in that short of distance? It must create one hell of a kick too!
Mike
4
posted on
03/02/2012 5:34:40 AM PST
by
MichaelP
(The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools ~HS)
To: Reaganite Republican
They showed this last night on Weaponology. I couldn’t believe the amount of capacitors this thing needs.
Wonder how this would fare against a target like...hmmm... an Iranian nuclear facility.
5
posted on
03/02/2012 5:35:42 AM PST
by
EQAndyBuzz
(Most Conservative in the Primary, the Republican Nominee in the General.)
Comment #6 Removed by Moderator
To: MichaelP
How do you “aim” at something that is 200 nautical miles away?
7
posted on
03/02/2012 5:38:44 AM PST
by
reg45
(Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class!)
To: Reaganite Republican
I am not a physics expert as you will see from this question. How far is the horizon? If this thing is firing that fast can you actually lob a shell or would the trajectory cause it to over shoot?
To: reg45
“How do you aim at something that is 200 nautical miles away?”
Lasers- nothing this expensive flies ‘dumb’ anymore!
To: MichaelP
I’d guess this system had less recoil than a conventional one. But I’d hate to be anywhere near it if flooding occurs.
10
posted on
03/02/2012 5:42:07 AM PST
by
skeeter
To: Reaganite Republican
Will it take out Fordow in one shot?
To: Reaganite Republican
It’s like a man made meteor strike. It doesn’t even need an explosive charge. Kinetic energy will do the work.
12
posted on
03/02/2012 5:47:36 AM PST
by
cuban leaf
(Were doomed! Details at eleven.)
To: Reaganite Republican
200 nautical miles, wow!
To choose a nautical trouble spot close to my heart, it’s 250 nautical miles from the Falklands to the coast of Argentina. That’s impressive range.
Imagine you started coming under satellite-observed fire at *200 nautical miles* - with a new shell incoming every 6 seconds (!). That would be a bad, bad day.
13
posted on
03/02/2012 5:49:23 AM PST
by
agere_contra
("Debt is the foundation of destruction" : Sarah Palin.)
To: Reaganite Republican
The launcher (gun) is expensive but the projectiles are just dumb hunks of metal.
14
posted on
03/02/2012 5:49:37 AM PST
by
reg45
(Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class!)
To: Reaganite Republican
Given today’s loose lipped administration, I wonder if the CHinese already have theirs up and running.
15
posted on
03/02/2012 5:49:49 AM PST
by
King Moonracer
(Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.....)
To: MichaelP
I am probably wrong, but I didn’t think rail guns had any recoil. The video simulations I saw showed the projectile gathering speed along the rail until it reached the end.
16
posted on
03/02/2012 5:50:46 AM PST
by
Drawsing
(The fool shows his annoyance at once. The prudent man overlooks an insult. (Proverbs 12:16))
To: reg45
At 200 miles, you would need a guided artillery shell like
Excalibur. The trick will be making electronics and mechanisms able to survive the acceleration.
video of railgun test
17
posted on
03/02/2012 5:51:12 AM PST
by
PapaBear3625
(In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - George Orwell)
To: reg45
How do you aim at something that is 200 nautical miles away? Smart projectiles. BTW...I think he really meant 40 lb projectiles, not 40 foot projectiles.
18
posted on
03/02/2012 5:51:37 AM PST
by
6ppc
(It's torch and pitchfork time)
To: Reaganite Republican
5600 mph x 100 mile range = approximately a one minute flight time.
Hard to hit a moving target with a one minute lead time.
19
posted on
03/02/2012 5:51:57 AM PST
by
Yo-Yo
(Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
To: Reaganite Republican
Wonder what the power requirements are for that thing. Would it only be useable on something with a nuke power plant?
20
posted on
03/02/2012 5:53:41 AM PST
by
saganite
(What happens to taglines? Is there a termination date?)
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