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Thread: The Navy's railgun

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    The Navy's railgun

    The Navy's railgun

    An awesome tool to use against our enemies.

    A warning siren bellowed through the concrete bunker of a top-secret Naval facility where U.S. military engineers prepared to demonstrate a weapon for which there is little defense.
    Officials huddled at a video screen for a first look at a deadly new supergun that can fire a 25-pound projectile through seven steel plates and leave a 5-inch hole.


    The weapon is called a railgun and requires neither gunpowder nor explosive. It is powered by electromagnetic rails that accelerate a hardened projectile to staggering velocity—a battlefield meteorite with the power to one day transform military strategy, say supporters, and keep the U.S. ahead of advancing Russian and Chinese weaponry.


    In conventional guns, a bullet loses velocity from the moment the gunpowder ignites and sends it flying. The railgun projectile instead gains speed as it travels the length of a 32-foot barrel, exiting the muzzle at 4,500 miles an hour, or more than a mile a second.


    “This is going to change the way we fight,” said U.S. Navy Adm. Mat Winter, the head of the Office of Naval Research.



    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


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    Those things are awesome! Kinetic energy so high they don't need a warhead!

    People who think a movie about plastic dolls is trying to turn their kids gay or trans are now officially known as

    Barbie Q’s

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    The Navy's railgun

    An awesome tool to use against our enemies.



    "This is going to change the way we fight,” said U.S. Navy Adm. Mat Winter, the head of the Office of Naval Research."
    And planes like the F-22 will change the way we fly and fight. So far that philosophy has kept us several steps ahead of our enemies and potential enemies. I love it that our next generation stuff is usually 3 generations ahead of everybody else's stuff.


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    Anchors Aweigh!

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    The newest class of carriers will be awesome. They will have enough electrical capability to power electromagnetic launch and recovery systems plus rail guns and lasers. Couple that with automated and distributed control systems and they will be able to operate with maybe half the crew they need now. It looks like all new ships will be operate with smaller crews.
    Last edited by Don; 05-29-2016 at 09:24 AM. Reason: changed launchers to lasers


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    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    The newest class of carriers will be awesome. They will have enough electrical capability to power electromagnetic launch and recovery systems plus rail guns and launchers. Couple that with automated and distributed control systems and they will be able to operate with maybe half the crew they need now. It looks like all new ships will be operate with smaller crews.
    Yes, I don't remember the numbers, but it is significant. Also much safer than the old launch systems.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


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    Quote Originally Posted by Crepitus View Post
    Those things are awesome! Kinetic energy so high they don't need a warhead!

    You should Google Project Thor.

    Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.
    "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

    Ephesians 6:12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cthulhu View Post
    You should Google Project Thor.

    Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.
    I am familiar. It's pretty awesome as well.
    People who think a movie about plastic dolls is trying to turn their kids gay or trans are now officially known as

    Barbie Q’s

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    Cool

    Uncle Ferd says dat'll fling a heap o' rails atta jihadis...

    The Navy’s Railgun Will Get Faster, More Powerful This Summer
    July 21, 2017 - The Navy’s futuristic electromagnetic railgun is set to take a major developmental step forward this summer as developers work to increase the number of shots it can fire per minute and the power behind the system.
    The railgun has been a pet project for the Navy for more than a decade since early testing of a prototype for a shipboard system began in 2006. The gun uses electromagnetic force to launch projectiles at high speeds, allowing the system to function without the powder mechanism conventional shipboard guns. In theory, a railgun would be safer and potentially cheaper to fire than traditional weapons. Navy plans have called for installing the railgun on the Navy’s three DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers, but it’s not clear when that will happen. For now, officials with the Office of Naval Research are working to build the program up to its target capability envelope.

    This summer and into next year, work will focus on increasing the power with which projectiles are fired to the target of 32 megajoules, and increasing what’s known as the rep rate to 10 shots per minute, or one every six seconds, said Dr. Tom Beutner, head of Naval Air Warfare and Weapons for ONR. At 32 megajoules, the gun will have a range of about 110 nautical miles, Beutner told reporters at ONR’s Science and Technology Expo in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Engineers will bring a new composite launcher designed to support the increased power and rep rate to Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, Virginia’s Terminal Range, where railgun prototypes are already being fired using a demonstration barrel. “We expect that both … milestones will be achieved over the next year,” Beutner said of the planned rep rate and power increases.


    The Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) at terminal range located at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD).

    The system still has crucial issues that need to be resolved. The system sustains significant wear-and-tear when it’s fired because of the power behind the projectile, leading to worries that the gun will break down too fast. Beutner said that parts of the system are being developed for longevity. “They’ve extended the launcher core life from tens of shots’ core life when program started to something that’s now been fired over 400 times and … we anticipate barrels will be able to do over 1,000 shots,” he said.

    Another key issue is power.

    The system requires massive amounts of it — so much that only the massive Zumwalt-class ships can independently sustain the demand. Beutner noted that the challenge applied to other weapons as well: when the Navy tested its new Laser Weapons System aboard the amphibious transport ship Ponce this month, testers took their own power sources with them to simplify the challenge. “ONR is starting to look at that … what that future ship power system needs to be in order to power, not just railgun, but a variety of electromagnetic weapons,” he said. ” … Power generation and storage approaches are all part of what we’re researching as well.”

    https://www.defensetech.org/2017/07/...werful-summer/
    See also:

    Quadcopter That Swims and Flies Could Be Used for Navy Special Ops
    July 21, 2017 - It’s a bird! It’s a fish! It’s … the Naviator. At the Office of Naval Research’s annual Science and Technology Expo on Friday in Washington, D.C., a development team from Rutgers University demonstrated the unusual quadcopter, which can swim at depths of up to 10 meters, then seamlessly launch to the surface and soar into the air.
    The drone, developed with sponsorship from the Office of Naval Research, shows promise as a tool for mine countermeasures and port security, to name a few possibilities. There’s also interest from the special operations community, said Dr. Marc Contarino, vice president of technology for the program. It carries a 360-degree waterproof camera, making it well-suited for security and bridge and ship inspections, among other missions. “Special ops have not told us exactly what they want. But we know for special ops, it’s all about speed and not being detected,” Contarino told Military.com. “So we’re building our system to be as fast as possible.”

    While current prototypes are not much larger than a typical commercial quadcopter, Contarino said there are plans to build a six-foot-diameter model capable of carrying the 30-pound payload the Navy wants for its mine countermeasure mission. That UAV will be able to operate in waves of three-to-five feet and in 30-mile-per-hour winds, he said. Developers have already put the Naviator through its paces in real-world conditions, launching the drone from the Delaware Memorial Bridge over the Delaware River and from the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. “Since we’re a Navy sponsor, I tried to find the biggest boat I could to showcase it,” Contarino said.

    When a Phase Two development contract begins for the Naviator in 2018, Contarino said the team plans to expand its operational envelope, including work to develop a model that can operate at depths of up to 30 meters, and development of pressure-resistant features that could support much greater depths. Whether the Naviator spends more time underwater or flying over it depends entirely on the mission. “[It acts as if] air is a fluid, water is a fluid, and it doesn’t care,” Contarino said. ” … So we think the Navy really likes it because it does the air, the surface, and the underwater mission.”

    https://www.dodbuzz.com/2017/07/21/q...y-special-ops/
    Related:


    Trump Welcomes New High-tech Warship to Navy
    23 Jul 2017 | The USS Gerald Ford will lend its name to a new class of warship, designed to replace Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
    President Donald Trump on Saturday presided over the commissioning of the U.S. Navy's newest next-generation aircraft carrier -- a trip that offered a brief escape from the swirling political drama in Washington. Trump appeared to revel in the pomp and pageantry of the ceremony on board the warship at the sprawling Norfolk naval base in Virginia, which included a 21-gun salute, and the hoisting of the Stars and Stripes on the ship's mast. "American steel and American hands have constructed a 100,000-ton message to the world: American might is second to none, and we're getting bigger and better and stronger every day of my administration," Trump said. "Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our allies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear, because everyone will know that America is coming and America is coming strong."



    President Donald Trump is welcomed by Captain Rick McCormack, the USS Gerald R. Ford's commanding officer, on the carrier's flight deck July 22 in Norfolk, Va


    The $12.9 billion USS Gerald R. Ford -- named after America's 38th president -- is a hulking nuclear-powered giant that is the first of a new generation of aircraft carriers. The colossal warship was plagued by cost overruns and, in the past, Trump criticized the budget allocated for the super-ship. The short 45-minute flight to Norfolk allowed Trump what was sure to be a welcome respite from the political upheaval of recent days -- from a shake-up of his communications team to the ongoing Russia scandal.


    Before heading south from Washington, Trump fired a salvo of nearly a dozen tweets, touching on the issues and people that gave him headaches this week -- the special prosecutor looking into his team's ties with Moscow, his attorney general, failed efforts to pass health care reform and the media. And he had another go at his onetime election rival Hillary Clinton, asking why investigators were looking into his son Don Jr.'s meeting with a Russian attorney, and not reopening a probe into the Democrat's email woes.


    - Next-generation supercarrier -


    None of that, however, factored into Trump's visit to Norfolk to celebrate America's military might. "This ship is the deterrent that keeps us from having to fight in the first place, but this ship also assures that if a fight does come, it will always end the same way -- we will win, win, win," Trump said. The commander-in-chief allowed himself a few comments of a political nature, calling on Congress to back his request for a defense budget hike. "We do not want cost overruns. We want the best equipment, but we want it built ahead of schedule and we want it built under budget," Trump said.


    Ford's daughter, Susan Ford Bales, formally welcomed the ship to the Navy's fleet with the words: "Man our ship and bring her to life!"[ The USS Gerald Ford lends its name to a new class of ship, designed to replace Nimitz-class carriers as they reach the end of their 50-year service life. Another Ford-class ship, the John F. Kennedy, is under construction. Naval officials want the fleet to have 12 supercarriers by 2031, and Trump has said he wants to expand the entire naval fleet. The Ford's commissioning brings the fleet's carrier strength to 11. No other nation's aircraft carrier capabilities come close -- Russia has only one.


    MORE
    Last edited by waltky; 07-24-2017 at 01:31 AM.

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    Another article on the railgun.

    Railguns rely on electromagnets to launch a metallic projective—dispensing with chemical propellants. In the case of the Navy, the service has developed a new next-generation, low-drag, guided round called the High-Velocity Projectile (HVP) that it intends to use in conjunction with the railgun.

    The HVP—which can also be fired from conventional cannons—would be able to hit targets at ranges of over 100 nautical miles at speeds exceeding Mach 6.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


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