Feb 03 2008
The Future Is Now
The US Navy has test fired a weapon prototype straight out of science fiction. The successful test of an electromagnetic railgun brings the navy one step closer to giving their ships an unfair advantage over any opposition - exactly what the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, wants.
The big gun uses electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants to fire a projectile farther and faster. The railgun, as it is called, will ultimately fire a projectile more than 230 miles (370 kilometers) with a muzzle velocity seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) and a velocity of Mach 5 at impact.
The test-firing, captured on video, took place Jan. 31 in Dahlgren, Va., and Navy officials called it the "world's most powerful electromagnetic railgun."
The Navy's current MK 45 five-inch gun, by contrast, has a range of less than 23 miles (37 kilometers).
The railgun has been a featured weapon in many science fiction universes, such as the new "Battlestar Galactic" series. It has also achieved newfound popularity among the 20-something-and-under generation for its devastating ability to instantaneously shoot a "slug" through walls and through multiple enemies in video games such as the "Quake" series of first person shooters.
The Navy's motivation? Simple destruction.
The railgun's high-velocity projectile will destroy targets with sheer kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.
"I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I always want them to have the advantage," said Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. "We should never lose sight of always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on the battlefield."
No explosives, no propellants, just a big, old slug traveling very, very fast. A straight kinetic energy weapon. This will mean no more risk of accidental explosions on board the ships. The test rig looks somewhat bulky, of course. They have some design refinement to do. But it will be interesting to see if they actually get these out into service. Here's a video of the test shot. They report getting a 10.64MJ energy level and a muzzle velocity of 2,520 meters per second. Here's a link to NSWC Dahlgren.
13 Responses to “The Future Is Now”
Yeah… I saw this about a week ago. The rail gun sounds like it is still more fantasy than reality. It has significant technical problems to overcome….. but if they can solve the problems…..WOW! More here http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,160195,00.html
I can see that the projectile is smaller in diameter than the barrel. No need for a tight fit because it is not being propelled by a gas.
So the question is how is it guided?
No rifling in the barrel to spin the projectile and I wonder if any electronics would survive that massive electromagnetic field?
It might make an excellent short range anti-missile system, it is certainly fast enough.
I recall reading about this sometime last year or so. It tickled both my Inner Science Fiction and Inner Military Geeks. The article read pointed out that a ship carrying this gun could shell Paris from the English Channel. With Chirac still in power then, the prospect was quite tempting.
All I can say is, regardless of how well the weapon eventually works - I really like the way CNO Gary Roughead thinks. That’s my kind of military leader!
While I’m NOT a weapons expert, and the physics of it all far surpasses my schooling, anybody have thoughts on how an enemy’s NNEMP would effect the use of this railgun? Would it be disabled and made useless in a battle situation?
Non Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse. I did not even know what that was until you posted. One of the benefits of this site. I always raised my hand in class and got plenty of things wrong so I will do it again.
I believe a considerable amount of magnetic shielding would be required before this weapon could be put on a ship, so it would not disrupt navigation systems and radios. Since it would be heavily shielded, it would presumably be protected from external NNEMP.
You should have been an astronaut.
NP -
An NNEMP literally fries everything and anything electronic, rendering anything electronic into useless crap. Some folkd believe it is more detrimental and devastating than a conventional nuke, in some respects. Gives the term, “knocking them back into the stone age” a whole new meaning. And pity anyone with a pace maker!
Imagine a terrorist group (or enemy government) wants NYCity or D.C, or L.A. (and yes, “24″ did have an episode containing such a scenario), but to be able to go in quickly and inhabit it … A well positioned NNEMP that is big enough could cripple said city very easily and cut them off from all communication … not to mention take them off grid for their area of the country and causing massive power outages in other cities (as seen when Ohio had a problem a couple years ago that put NY and parts of the east coast in the dark).
Anything electronic related would have to be completely replaced … right down to the cables and wires.
Having said all that … It’s really a cool weapon. : ^)
Whoa! But is not everything so vulnerable because it is not properly shielded or hardened? The shielding on average wire , even network cable , is almost useless. I would hope the Navy would shield better than the commercial public. I think the reason everything electronic would need to be replaced is that the pulse erases all ROM memory and these chips are in every startup board, even a simple home furnace.
Scary stuff, but I think of the invention of armor and all of its refinements which are still going on today.
Thanks for sending me off learning about NNEMP.
NP -
[Whoa! But is not everything so vulnerable because it is not properly shielded or hardened?]
Shhhyep! … And don’t forget all those dead vehicles and mass-transit systems, planes, choppers, police, firefighting and EMT vehicles, hospitals …. banking systems … anything on computer systems … on and on.
[I would hope the Navy would shield better than the commercial public.]
Shhhhyeah! Me too!!! Not to mention the rest of our military, and government.
And therein lies the beauty of the NNEMP … No rotting scorched dead bodies in the destroyed buildings and rubble-cluttered streets.
Just a helpless population at the mercy of the army filing in.
BTW -
Thanks for the astronaut mention … Guess you read my reply to Gaius posting about the Apollo 1 Anniversary … Eh, I’ll live.
I did, and it was a very fitting tribute, there was nothing to add.
NP -
Oh, BTW, I meant to address this : “One has to wonder about an escape hatch that opened inward and 100% pressurized oxygen above 15psi.” (your remark on the Apollo 1 thread) …
While I don’t know the true details of this, but I assume the basic premise was primary in the depiction in the movie “The Right Stuff” , Grissom was VERY concerned about the capsule hatch, almost to the point of paranoia (sort of the feel I got from the movie) … and who could blame him. Although a test pilot, I often wonder if Grissom had a bit of claustrophobia, which would be understandable given not only the very cramped space of the capsule with three men onboard, but the cumbersome flight suit(s) and the tight seat strappings. Test pilots mostly flew alone … and had access to their ejection seat, which allowed them that feeling of confidently being in control … In the space capsule they were at the mercy of everything. A lot was changed after the Apollo 1 tragedy … including, I believe, the air mix away from pure, pressurized O2.
There is a Chuck Yeager line from “The Right Stuff” that Yeager actually DID say something akin to (as I read in his autobiography). Someone comments comparing the astronauts to the monkeys the space agency previously used. To which Yeager responds:
“Monkeys? You think a monkey knows he’s sittin’ on top of a rocket that might explode? These astronaut boys they know that, see? Well, I’ll tell you something, it takes a special kind of man to volunteer for a suicide mission, especially one that’s on TV. Ol’ Gus, he did all right. ”
I know a retired, three war veteran, AF Colonel (pilot) who is/was friends with Yeager and says he’s one of the best damn pilots ever to have flown.
Well stated Maggie, I think your comment about Gus is well stated.
He was understandably concerned about the exit.
Good thought.
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