Posted on 06/02/2015 6:32:02 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to include a new statement from Naval Sea Systems Command that changes one previously given to USNI News revising the planned speed of hyper velocity projectile fired from a Mk 45 naval gun from Mach 5 to Mach 3.
The U.S. Navy’s deck guns could take on new relevance if ongoing tests to fire a guided round at three times the speed of sound from their muzzles are successful, USNI News has learned.
Using rounds initially designed for the service’s emerging electromagnetic railgun, Naval Sea Systems Command are now in early testing phases of using the planned hyper velocity projectile (HVPs) with the service’s existing gunpowder-based deck guns found on almost every U.S. Navy surface ship, NAVSEA told USNI News.
An artist’s conception of BAE Systems’ Hyper Velocity Projectile. BAE Systems Image
The HVPs from a traditional deck gun will be slower than one launched from a railgun — a little over Mach 3 versus Mach 5 — but still more than double the speed of an unguided regular shell from the service’s Mk 45 five-inch gun found on its guided missile cruisers and destroyers, according to information from NAVSEA.
While deck guns are standard through out the fleet, they lack the range precision of the guided missiles found on cruisers and destroyers and have had shrinking utility in high-end warfare.
A high speed guided round from a deck gun could give U.S. ships more options to deal with air and ballistic missile threats while the Navy continues to refine the railgun design.
According to a service wish list for railgun applications revealed last year, the Navy wants a “multi-mission railgun weapon system to support detect, track and engagement of ballistic missiles and air and watercraft threats” by 2025.
A guided HVP round from a standard Mk 45 deck gun could bring a significant margin of the railguns promised capabilities to the fleet sooner, USNI News understands.
Unlike standard high-explosive rounds, the speed of the HVPs doesn’t need explosives and relies on the force brought from its speed to destroy targets.
The addition of the HVP to the arsenal could mean instead of sending a Standard Missile to interdict an air threat, a ship could instead fire a much more inexpensive salvo of guided shells from the deck gun to handle an enemy aircraft.
According to NAVSEA, the service is also investigating using HVP in larger guns than the MK 45.
“The round is being designed to be compatible with multiple guns in the U.S. inventory,” read the NAVSEA statement to USNI News. NAVSEA didn’t specify, but USNI News understands the Navy is looking for alternatives to the $400,000-per-round guided rocket assisted Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) fired from the 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS) of the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers (DDG-1000).
A range of hyper velocity projectiles from different weapon systems. BAE Systems Image
Testing for the inclusion of the HVP in standard is ongoing and a timeframe as-of-yet for completion hasn’t been established. Likewise, there is no program of record for the effort yet, NAVSEA said.
Both BAE Systems and General Atomics have worked with the service on railgun and projectile technology, though NAVSEA did not specify any companies working on the effort.
“This is a government-led effort, and we are working to involve a number of different defense contractors at this stage,” NAVSEA said.
A BAE Systems designed railgun will undergo a first round of at-sea testing next year.
USS Ross (DDG-71) test fires the MK45 5-inch lightweight gun on April 30, 2015. US Navy Photo
OK they’re really fast. Aren’t they still limited on range due to the basic physics involved?
Yesterday it was Mach 5. Today its Mach 3. Who knows? Math is hard!
Global warming, economic indicators — it’s all “whatever”.
Initial velocity determines distance. If you get it going fast enough it will never impact the ground (call it in orbit).
Sure but unless you put a guidance system in it then you couldn’t pull it back out of orbit.
The Germans encountered this in WWII with their big guns. Of course they tried building bigger and bigger guns to get the range. The shells basically go sub-orbital to get much beyond the current range.
but I’m no expert
 S AVE O UR S ITE Let's Git-R-Done! |
The article states they are guided. The will be used in the anti aircraft role.
Sure, my first thought while on watch with the weapons keys was always ‘what’s the least expensive way to kill the threat’.
Will the USMC ARTY and Army ARTY be able to use it?
And, kinetic energy goes as velocity squared. Mach 3 is only 36% of the energy of Mach 5.
This sounds much less effective than it did yesterday. Of course, the "guided" part always sounds good. A hit is always better than a miss...
Every projectile is sub-orbital, even the lowly .22.
Worrying about artillery shells going orbital is in the same category as worrying about Guam tipping over.
Look up the original HARP (High Altitude Research Program) not the current Obination with the same acronym.
Wow using that logic I’m suborbital.
Superman has nothing on me!
By the way I’m not worried about artillery going suborbital. I was commenting on whether physics limits the benefit of a really fast shell.
But gosh you’re smart.
It’s probably nothing more than sloppy journalism (no shortage of that!). But the story from June1 indiated that, while a railgun could launch a projectile at Mach 7, the new standard deck gun could achieve a lesser (but still impressive) Mach 5 — actually a little over:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3295829/posts
“The HVPs from a traditional deck gun will be slower than one launched from a railgun — a little over Mach 5 versus Mach 7 — but still double the speed of an unguided regular shell from the service’s Mk 45 five-inch gun”
And today it’s just down at Mach 3, which is impressive, but a big drop.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.