Tests of the US Navy's railgun (railgun) on board the ship may begin as early as 2016. It is reported that a fundamentally new type of weapon has come close to being adopted, which can radically change the appearance of the modern navy. The US Navy has currently funded 2 prototype railguns from BAE Systems and General Atomics. For the second phase of the project, during which tempo fire will be demonstrated, a rather powerful 457-mm gun from BAE Systems was chosen.
The prototype railgun is planned to be installed on board the Millinocket multipurpose high-speed landing catamaran. The principle of operation of such guns is based on the use of electromagnetic force (Lorentz force), which is used to launch a projectile installed between two guides - a rail. Moreover, a projectile fired from such a weapon has a very high flight speed. At the exit from the barrel, the speed of the projectile is many times higher than that of ordinary artillery ammunition and can reach a speed of 8, 5 thousand km / h. This allows you to increase the kinetic energy of the projectile, which no longer needs to be equipped with a propellant charge, and the range of fire.
It is reported that the electromagnetic gun will be used to destroy air, surface and ground targets at a relatively low cost of operating the gun. According to available information, this project cost the Pentagon $ 200 million. It was hosted by BAE Systems and General Atomics. Currently, work is in full swing on the development of a powerful power plant that can be used to launch multi-purpose projectiles from a ship at a distance of up to 200 km.
The railgun uses the Lorentz force to disperse the projectiles, as well as the explosive evaporation of metal, which occurs under the influence of high currents. The prototypes that exist at the moment are able to send a 23-kg projectile at a distance of about 160 km, while the initial flight speed of the projectile is 2200 m / s. For comparison: modern Soviet-designed 100-mm AK-100 artillery mounts, which are on many Russian ships, are able to send a 15-kg projectile to a maximum range of 21 km, and the initial flight speed of the projectile is 880 m / s.
At the same time, a projectile for a railgun costs about 25 thousand dollars, which is cheaper than the cost of missiles, which cost American taxpayers 500 thousand - 1.5 million dollars apiece. In addition, the railgun dispenses with powder charges, which significantly increases the survivability of the warships on which it is installed, and the safety of sailors. Also, due to the absence of propellant charges and related systems intended for their storage and supply, such gun stops are smaller and lighter. Finally, the railgun will be able to serve only 1 sailor.
Rear Admiral Brian Fuller, chief engineer of the US Navy, believes that electromagnetic cannons can give the US Navy incredible offensive capabilities. According to him, the new weapon will allow the US Navy to effectively counter a very wide range of threats at a relatively low cost of operation. US Navy engineers have already completed a series of tests of the railgun on land, and in 2016, sea trials of weapons are to begin, which are planned to be installed on board the latest high-speed ship JHSV Millinocket. In addition, in July this year, a demonstration of the railgun is to take place at the training ground of the US Navy base, located in San Diego.
If all goes well, already in the 2020s, the ships of the American Navy will be able to actively arm themselves with railguns, which are able to perform a very wide range of tasks: from destroying ground targets to intercepting ballistic missile warheads. The long firing range and high speed of the projectile allow the electromagnetic cannon to fire at targets that are inaccessible to conventional artillery weapons. Moreover, in the long term, the US military plans to increase the muzzle velocity of the projectiles used and bring the firing range of the railgun to 400 km.
The US Navy plans to install a prototype of the new weapon on its new brainchild - the multipurpose fast landing catamaran Millinocket (JHSV-3 Millinocket) of the Spearhead class (the name of the lead ship of the series); in total, it is planned to build up to 10 ships of this class. The installation of the railgun on board the ship should be carried out in 2016, reports ARMS-TASS with reference to the Department of External Relations of the Command of Shipbuilding and Armaments of the US Navy. In the same year, it is planned to start sea trials of the gun. It is assumed that the electromagnetic gun will be a fairly effective weapon in the fight against a large number of possible threats, which include small ships, aircraft, surface ships, missiles, and ground targets.
In general, the railgun, created in the USA, corresponds to some samples of already deployed ground weapons of kinetic impact, while offering a number of new possibilities. One of the main advantages of the project is the cost of using an electromagnetic gun, which is lower than the cost of the closest missile counterparts. The projectile created for the new cannon must correspond to some samples of ordinary artillery pieces, which will make it possible to use missile weapons only when fighting the most significant threats. According to Rear Admiral of the US Navy, Matthew Klander, the railgun is a directed energy transfer weapon that is the future of the maritime theater of war. In the US Navy, Matthew Klunder is the head of the Special Research Directorate.
Landing ship-catamaran "Millinocket" (JHSV-3 Millinocket)
It is reported that the demonstration of the capabilities of the electromagnetic gun at sea will be the last stage in a series of events, the main goal of which is to develop a working model of the railgun and supply it to the Navy. Since 2005, the US Navy, as well as other organizations involved in the project, have been testing these weapons at the Naval Surface Warfare Center located in Delgren, Virginia, as well as at the Naval Research Laboratory, where several prototypes of railguns were located. … Ground tests of the installation were successful, more than a thousand single shots were fired from it. At the same time, the designers are currently working to ensure the possibility of automatic firing from the railgun. In addition, the task is to create the possibility of supplying an electromagnetic gun with a large amount of electricity when it is installed on board military ships.
American engineers expect that the railgun will be able to use multipurpose guided projectiles, with which it will be possible to destroy a wide range of targets, at a distance of up to 110 nautical miles (about 203 km). It is reported that the energy of a shot of an electromagnetic gun reaches 32 megajoules when using projectiles weighing 10 kg. The US military has planned a series of tests, the main task of which will be to integrate the railgun into the existing armament range, as well as to study the necessary changes that will definitely need to be performed on board a warship to install such a system.
The fact that the US Navy expects to test the railgun using the Millinocket fast amphibious assault ship is not accidental. The choice in favor of conducting tests on this particular ship is associated with its set of characteristics: the carrying capacity and ergonomics of these ships, as well as the operational flexibility of their possible use. Since ships of this class do not belong to the number of full-fledged warships, at the moment there is no plan for the permanent placement of electromagnetic guns on them. The final decision on which ships the promising railguns will be installed on has not yet been made by the American military.
