Posted on 08/03/2012 6:46:53 AM PDT by moonshot925
What navy would not want a two-foot-long GPS-guided bullet that can be fired from a gargantuan cannon built right into a warship?
Did you know that we already have bullets that can strike an enemy thirty miles away?
This new government project hopes to utilize the current artillery and rail guns aboard US warships, with just a minor tweaking: fast (5,600 mph), GPS-controlled, twenty plus pound bullets that can travel potentially hundreds of miles and strike with pinpoint accuracy.
Announced on July 19, the new program is called Hyper Velocity Projectile, and plans to build on such successes as the 5” Mark 45 Mod guns that already reach farther than 30 miles.
Missiles could very well be going the extinct way of the dinosaurs, as these colossal bullets will be much cheaper and safer to produce in massive quantities.
(Excerpt) Read more at gadizmo.com ...
How far did the big guns on WW II ships deliver to their targets??
It’s been a long time since I saw an episode of ‘Victory At Sea”, but I seem to remember they could hit a target from a great distance.
I would not want to hear the sonic boom of a hyper-velocity, two foot long solid projectile, at sea level. I have heard the ‘pop’ of meteors entering the earth’s atmosphere, and they are usually doing in excess of 11 km/s. But they are usually the size of a pebble..............
Sure, as long as you can conceal it. But that may take a little more development.
The 16” guns on the Iowa class battleships had a maximum range of 23-25 nautical miles.
The 18.1” guns on the Yamato had a maximum range of 25-26 nautical miles.
I watched the video. Why is there an explosive flash if there are not explosive propellants?
When I was an aerospace engineer I designed an air-launched 100 kg projectile that could be fired straight into low Earth orbit. Cheap launch for small satellites.
The gun could also fire shells of over 200 kg at ground targets from 1000 km away. At 5 km/sec closing velocity they would have excellent penetration capability.
The gun itself was heavy, but a 747 could handle the load
The secret sauce that makes such a feat possible is still not known to the larger aerospace community.
If any contractors want to pick my brain on how to do this, I am available as a consultant.
You can see how I earned my nickname.
There was an experiment in the early 1960s where they used a supersonic aircraft flying just above the ground.
Soldiers in its path suffered internal injuries and blown eardrums from the shockwave.
Actually, I would think moving objects would be a challenge since they are GPS guided.
These won't quite make it.
You'd see the rounds go up, and then down. Too far away to hear but you knew what they were.
WE are developing the drones to avoid the enemy’s equivalent of our super range rail guns. You have to assume they will have them too ~ just a matter of time.
—Soldiers in its path suffered internal injuries and blown eardrums from the shockwave.—
How about the ones who’s helmets it knocked off with the wings?
It flew at 50 ft. altitude, so the Texans had to duck.
The grammar in that article is atrocious. Existing railguns???
That being said I had heard that the projectile velocity for the GE gun (assuming this is it) at 100 miles was equal to the muzzle velocity of the existing cannons...
8000+- fps isn’t that impressive considering Polish AT rifles were approaching that in the 30’s.
Loose lips sink ships! ...Shhhh...{:-)
Probably the guy doing the salt gun did the same thing as a kid. I would have gotten in beau coup trouble from my dad stuffing gunk down the bore of my bb gun! lol “Make sure the barrel is clear before you fire”.
Is there anyway to add a “proximity fuse charge” so as to create a “buckshot spread” before it hits a target?
“I would have gotten in beau coup trouble from my dad stuffing gunk down the bore of my bb gun!”
That wasn’t “Gunk” that I was putting down the bore! That was ballistic grade yard sand! and it was environmentally sensitive - no lead!
(I never checked to see of the porch flies were on the endangered species list...which they didn’t invent for another 15 or so years)
/s
But unless the range goes up beyond a couple hundred miles, I don't think this is very useful. On ships, this is a much lower range than cruise missles and aircraft carriers, so against them the ship is at a disadvantage.
However, if they get the range up to a couple thousand miles, then its a game changer. We could even build launchers up the sides of Hawaii volcanoes, and cover the entire pacific. They would be invulnerable to torpedoes and cruise missles, ony a nuke would take them out.
“That wasn’t “Gunk” that I was putting down the bore! That was ballistic grade yard sand! and it was environmentally sensitive - no lead!”
LOL
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