Posted on 02/25/2015 6:53:41 AM PST by C19fan
Raytheon's 155mm M982 Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell is being shrunk down to fit into the Mark 45 five inch deck guns that are deployed aboard the Navy's Cruisers and Destroyers. This miniaturized sea-going Excalibur, known as the N5, could triple the range of current five inch shells and offer pinpoint 'danger close' fire support like never before.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com ...
Scaling up is no the problem scale down can be but they are already working on a 50 cal. smart round.
Back in the 80’s the Navy had a program for rocket boosted shells for BBs..maximum range was about 200 miles, which would have put about 90% of the world’s population within range. It was abandoned when they decision was made to mothball the BBs...they were too expensive to man and maintain.
The Navy doesn’t want to spend money on effective weapons.
Now the POS LCS ships. That is a project worth Billions!!!!
The air force is just as bad with the A-10 and F-35.
All the Tax payer money will burn a hole in the brass’ pocket off they don’t do something with it!
Forget a new Air Force bomber. Take the Navy’s rail gun, make it 10 times bigger, station it in the middle of the US and launch GPS projectiles into space. We could strike anywhere in the world in minutes, dirt cheap.
A hi-tech version of Hitler’s V-3 weapon and Saddam’s mega-cannon designed by John Bull.
“dirt cheap” Is the reason we won’t see it.
And those wouldn’t even need explosives. the kinetic energy alone would make a hell of a mess.
CC
My battle station was as first loader in a 5” 38 gun mount. That was when rounds were hand loaded. I would assume they autoload now. Anyway we drilled, but never got to fire a shot in anger! I was out by the fall of ‘64.
Time to resurrect the Raytheon ERGM Navy 5 inch shell (missile?) -
http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/ergm.html
Basically the same as described in the article, but with 40 miles more range provided by a rocket boost.
Cancelled in 2008.
Could a land-based rail gun sling a projectile into space? That would seem to be an efficient way of placing guided kinetic projectiles into a wait-til-we-need-you orbit.
No 16 inch guns anymore.
I do not see why not. Just a question of making the rail gun big enough or improvements in the magnets to achieve orbital velocity. The question would would the projectile and/or components survive the forces caused by the acceleration.
And survive coming back into the atmosphere. I would assume the projectile would burn up.
No 16 inch guns on any ship currently in the U.S. Navy.
However 36 MK.7 16/50 caliber guns and 18 MK.6 16/45 caliber guns in the hands of various states or cities in the U.S.
This has already been done years ago.
Ah, did not scroll down to read this. Never knew they canceled it. Money pissed away.
In 1951 boot camp we went through a drill of loading those 54-pound 5" projectiles in an ammunition hoist. We were told to grip them around the outside diameter when loading, as you never knew when the hoist would travel up and if you gripped the projectile with one hand over the base, you might lose fingers.
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