Navy Electromagnetic Rail Gun Fires GPS Controlled Bullets at 5,600 mph

Gadizmo ^ | 2 August 2012 | R.J. Huneke

[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.

[Strategerist]

There’s a pretty extensive literature on railgun satellite launch if you go through IEEE journals.

Also, surprisingly, quite a bit of work was done in the 80s on railgun terminal ballistic missile defense with guided projectiles.

[Drew68]

40 pound projectiles traveling at 8,210 feet per second to ranges of 50-100 nautical miles.

I recall reading elsewhere that these projectiles contain no explosive ordnance. Their destructive power comes from kinetic energy alone. As an Ordnanceman myself, this is interesting in that these projectiles could potentially be stored almost anywhere on a ship safely, rather than a handful of armored, floodable magazines. They could also be handled by many more crewmembers than just ordnance-qualified personnel.

[Ben Hecks]

This will change deer hunting forever.

[null and void]

Lighting and thunder.

[lormand]

I’ll take two!

[WakeUpAndVote]

You won’t get much meat though.

[Gay State Conservative]

Thanks to the 1.2 million Chinese “diplomats” and “students” currently living in this country you can be sure that the “People's Liberation Army” got the plans for this weapon 15 minutes after they were finalized.

[Red Badger]

If it hit you, you would NEVER hear it.........;^)

[lormand]

I’m wondering what the total footprint is to support one rail gun (energy source, supporting components, etc). Can it be put on a tank for example?

[moonshot925]

I recall reading elsewhere that these projectiles contain no explosive ordnance. Yes that is correct.

[SampleMan]

Yes, a game changer.

These projectiles require no explosives, as the kinetic energy of impact dwarfs the power of any payload. If I’ve done my math correctly, a 40 lb projectile at these speeds has twice the kinetic energy of a 1600 lb shell at conventional speeds.

The magazine capacity of a ship is also much greater, as only the projectile is required. This will double or triple capacity by volume and weight.

This reintroduces the BB battleship as a naval combatant.

There is no defense against these arrows. The only option is to go after the archer.

[Gay State Conservative]

I recall reading elsewhere that these projectiles contain no explosive ordnance. Their destructive power comes from kinetic energy alone.

Aw,c'mon...where's the fun in that? Stick a small nuke on each one and start firing them at Bejing,Moscow,Tehran,Pakistan,Caracas,Berkeley and DC

[Red Badger]

[Pecos]

No.

[Bender2]

Re: This will change deer hunting forever

The Navy Electromagnetic Rail Gun has entered... the forest--

My source at Bain Capitol says children, women and minorities... will suffer the most!

Don't forget the dear little deer, Harry... they may need the passing of an Obamamortuary Bill--

[Minutemen]

What navy would not want a two-foot-long GPS-guided bullet?...

A navy that cannot afford $40 per gallon 'green' fuel?

[TheCause]

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“...and kill unmanned drones.”

I want one...

[Steely Tom]

A large metal pojectile streaking through the air at many times the speed of sound would have to make one hell of a racket, preceded by a sonic boom, of course.

Actually it's followed by the sonic boom, but otherwise you're right.

[muawiyah]

They should be able to take out ANY THING from a Low Earth Orbit on down!

Cruise missiles ~ kaput!.

Drones - kaput!

Fighter aircraft - kaput!

Bombers - kaput!

Tanks - kaput!

Bicycles - kaput!

And this stuff will only get better.

In large quantities; relatively inexpensive; launched from our ships anywhere on Earth; .....