None. The Iowa class is in mothballs or on display. They won’t be coming back.
I doubt it was quiet when they were testing...
any idea of the barrel twist?
What the Navy really needs are rapid firing 5” “shotgun” shells to send a hail of steel to engage incoming missiles as a last line of defense.
Headline writer has odd idea of what constitutes a naval heavy gun.
18,16,15,14,12.
Maybe even 8.
But not 5
These will be a partial defense to high Mach number missiles, but probably not to sub-orbital ballistic warheads.
Bottom line, carrier groups, capital ships and sometimes even submarines will face a growing risk of not surviving an engagement.
What is the capabilities of a 16 inch battleship firing 16 inch versions of these rounds.
Gerald Bull could have told us that 20 years ago, if the US had been smart enough to keep him on the DOD payroll.
Both up and down...
When does this come to the infantry man’s gun ?!?
https://news.usni.org/2015/06/01/navy-researching-firing-mach-5-guided-round-from-standard-deck-guns
Testing has been going on for years.
The 5” has to be modified to accept the round.
Yet another Navy program that’ll take decades to implement if ever.
The U.S. Navy Quietly Tested Mach 3 Heavy Gun Shells That Could Revolutionize Surface Warfare .................................. An exact copy should appear on the Chinese navy ships shortly.
Ping. Thinking of you.
#NoHomo
Build the Montana class.
What took the Navy so long?
The normal muzzle velocity of naval guns during World War Two was about 2600 feet per second. The German 88mm gun used by the Tiger II tank in 1944-45 had a muzzle velocity of about 3300 feet per second.
I.e., big *ucking deal. Yawn. The major advantage of a rail gun with a Mach 3 muzzle velocity is that it doesn't need a propellant charge. Instead it requires less combustible liquid fuel to generate electricity, and might (only "might") be able to fire more rounds per minute.
You know, those guys that claim we have operational ship reail guns, etc?
The navy was developing ERGM decades ago for the 5" guns, a rocket boosted GPS guided extended range munition. They dropped that program at some point.
The new rounds dramatically expand the ability of the guns on these ships and other platforms to engage surface targets and air and missile threats.
By Joseph TrevithickJanuary 8, 2019
The Russians have been loudly broadcasting their work in this area but this leads me to believe once again we are far ahead of them and their talk is mostly just that. Well done Squids! (Retired Army Officer)