A professor at the China National Defense University on the forum site www.chnqiang.com listed six advantages and four areas of application of the electromagnetic rail gun.
First, the tremendous speed, high accuracy, long range and very powerful kinetic energy of the ammunition. The use of such projectiles drastically reduces the time of arrival of the ammunition in the affected area, the target is destroyed by a direct hit.
Secondly, the projectile is small in size and weight. A projectile of this type with a caliber of 120 mm is 8-10 times smaller than a traditional ammunition of a similar caliber, which can dramatically increase the amount of ammunition on the carrier, thereby reducing the load on the logistics system. For example, if a ship carries 70 missiles, then equipping an electromagnetic rail cannon can increase the amount of ammunition to several hundred.
Thirdly, such a projectile is very stable in flight, since the pressure in the gun barrel created by an electromagnetic pulse is very uniform in physics and is easily controlled, therefore, the projectile has an almost ideal trajectory and high accuracy of destruction.
Fourthly, the electromagnetic gun is well camouflaged; when firing, there is no smoke, no fire, no shock wave, which allows for covert shooting at the enemy. In addition, the safety of the use of weapons is increased.
Fifth, on the electromagnetic gun, you can easily adjust the power of the pulse transmitted to the projectile, depending on the range to the target.
Sixth, this weapon is more economical. Compared to the use of conventional projectiles, electromagnetic ammunition is 10 times cheaper. The development of such weapons is just underway, but in the long term it promises to be a very effective means of armed struggle.
As for the fields of application of electromagnetic guns, there are several of them. First, they can be used in the interests of space-based missile defense. The cannon, which has tremendous energy, can ensure the destruction of LEO satellites and launch vehicles.
Secondly, the cannons can be used in the air defense system. American experts believe that in the future, anti-aircraft electromagnetic guns can supplant anti-aircraft missiles, and can also be used to intercept long-range anti-ship missiles.
Third, these cannons can be very effective anti-tank weapons. Tests in the United States have shown that an electromagnetic projectile of 25 mm caliber and weighing 50 grams can reach speeds of up to 3 km / s, providing a very high armor penetration.
Fourthly, such cannons will become part of field artillery, sharply increasing the range of destruction of targets - up to 150 km.
