I don't see the pragmatism of this weapon.
I think the range of the shells to hit targets inland will be around 200 miles.
Picture throwing a Volkswagen 100 miles at 5000 MPH. Then it hits something.
With the proper projectile and that much kinetic energy I think it’s safe to say we nor anybody else has the armor to stop it.
Incredible penetration. More damage against armored targets, and less explosive damage against less-armored targets.
Think of the force something comparatively small and light like a 50 cal. hits with at a fraction of the speed. Then multiply up.
Ain’t much that can stop the kinetic energy of a rail gun. Which is a way is a problem. Because depending on the projectile, it could simply slice through whatever it hits leaving a nice hole and keep on going. But I’m sure they accounted for that ;)
It’s not the brute force, it’s the range and accuracy. I wonder how many global hotspots are within 200 miles of the ocean?
It may be the reason that there is less focus on cruise missiles.
I don't see the pragmatism of this weapon.
The Star Wars description is really stupid. They use energy weapons.
You see railguns/mass drivers in The Last Starfighter, Wing Commander and Battletech.
If I’m up to date on Newtonian physics, what’s the recoil like with something like this
5400mph is 7920 ft/sec.
So how does that compare to other projectile speeds?
16”/50 battle ship projectiles - ~2700 ft/sec
.30-06 rifle bullet - ~2900 ft/sec
Rheinmetall 120mm tank gun ~5700 ft/sec
WWI German ‘Paris Gun’ ~12,920 ft/sec
So this rail gun is producing a 40% increase on velocity, compared to very high velocity modern artillery pieces.
It is a significantly lower velocity (60%) than the WWI Paris gun, which fired a projectile 10 times as large.
I'm not saying it isn't a great achievement, it is, but it is not producing unheard of velocities. The big plus is that it is achieving the velocities in a progressive acceleration curve that allows the use of on-board guidance, and it manages a total size and cycle rate that is tactically useful.
This has the potential to be the biggest development in naval warfare since nuclear submarines. I could see the reintroduction of armored ships, sporting rail guns and laser CIWS defenses. They would go in harms way without air support and put everything the enemy had within 300-500 miles of the coast in jeopardy (next generation 14,000 fps, guns).
Ask Jeff, he keeps up with stuff like this
To be accurate, doesn’t the gun have to remain motionless? Or is there a guidance system? Even with gyros and an active suspension system, I don’t see how this could be accurate at long range.
and the guy in the zodiac pulls alongside the USN ship detonates himself and blows a 40’ hole .....
Out of the frying pan into the fire. Real world testing of electrical gear in the corrosive environment of a ship at sea. Would love more details along the line of maintenance and operational readiness.
It appears the impetus for 200 mile range was to allow the Littoral ships to supply support fire for Marine Corp amphibious assaults, defeating reactive armor with hyper-velocity projectiles, and remaining out of range of shore launched anti-ship smart weapons.
The alternative development track for hyper-velocity kinetic weapons was initially conducted by Utron. The Combustion Light-gas Gun “CLGG” delivered similar range and velocity. Contracts were issued for further development through 2013.
http://sbirsource.com/sbir/awards/142049-hydrogen-based-high-velocity-insensitive-launch-systems
http://sbirsource.com/sbir/awards/13080-chemically-driven-hydrogen-gun
http://www.utroninc.com/tech.html.
They’ve been test firing at Dahlgren, directly across the Potomac from where I live. They shoot into a mountain of sand, according to the local newspaper.
The thing is loud,loud,loud.