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Navy Tests High-Powered Electromagnetic Railgun

TheBubba

TheBubba

I Can Has Leadership!
None
Muzzle velocity of Mach 5... awesome. Talked to one of the 10-lbs heads working on this thing a couple few years back. Said that the projectile will have an estimate on-target velocity of somewhere around Mach 4.5-4.9.

I also got to hold a mock up of one of the projectiles. Guy said they will eventually experiment with a round that is essentially a jar of ball bearings, to be used mostly against unarmored convoy type targets.
 
BACONATOR

BACONATOR

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
One of my professors was using a NASA grant to experiment in railgun technology. All I can say is this thing is SWEET. And a projectile at M4.5 is gonna FVCK shit up!
 
TheBubba

TheBubba

I Can Has Leadership!
None
bogey_spotter said:
One of my professors was using a NASA grant to experiment in railgun technology. All I can say is this thing is SWEET. And a projectile at M4.5 is gonna FVCK shit up!
Click to expand...

Even with no warhead. One of the original designs for the projectile was basically a solid metal cone with retractable fins for stabilization.
 
BACONATOR

BACONATOR

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pilot
Contributor
TheBubba said:
Even with no warhead. One of the original designs for the projectile was basically a solid metal cone with retractable fins for stabilization.
Click to expand...


Exactly. No ordinance required. A simple metal projectile has an extraordinary amount of kinetic energy at that speed.

KE = 0.5 * m V^2

...'nuff said.:D
 
xj220

xj220

Will fly for food.
pilot
Contributor
I can see it now, rail gun battleships! A couple of my friends did a capstone on rail guns where they worked with guys down in Dahlgren. Very complicated but very awesome. That's a lot of power to be sucked from the ship for each firing though.
 
TheBubba

TheBubba

I Can Has Leadership!
None
xj220 said:
I can see it now, rail gun battleships! A couple of my friends did a capstone on rail guns where they worked with guys down in Dahlgren. Very complicated but very awesome. That's a lot of power to be sucked from the ship for each firing though.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, the 10-lbs heads are researching a similar system to replace steam catapults...
 
M

MasterBates

Well-Known Member
The "rail-a-pult" would be easier on airframes.

And the ball bearings sounds like grapeshot.

grapeshot.jpg
 
xj220

xj220

Will fly for food.
pilot
Contributor
I heard about the catapults, too. It seems the way things are going with the likes of the DDX and the all electric fleets. Pretty cool systems they're developing.
 
red_ryder

red_ryder

Well-Known Member
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Yeah, that's what I was wondering. Wouldn't be as neat if you lit up sensors for miles, or if it ripped off everyone's belt buckle and wings and put them through the bulkhead.
 
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