v.1.0 June, 2004
Source: Excerpted from www.military.com
SUMMARY A
projected naval rail gun with a 2.5km/sec muzzle velocity could deliver a
guided projectile with an impact velocity of Mach 5 to targets at
ranges of 250 miles, at a rate greater than 6 rounds per minute. Rail
gun projectiles are smaller and easier to store: a standard AGS magazine
holds 1,500 rounds; a rail gun magazine could hold 10,000 rounds
in the same amount of space.
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Gunpowder, as we know it, may soon become outdated. Make
way for the rail gun, a device that substitutes electromagnetic (EM) propulsion
for gunpowder, with devastating results in speed and kinetic power.
An EM projector (i.e. rail gun) uses electrical energy to accelerate
projectiles to extreme velocities. How fast? Tests conducted at the University
of Canberra were able to accelerate a 16-gram projectile down a 5-meter barrel
at 250,000 gravities, for a muzzle velocity of 5,900 meters per second. Loosely
translated, that is an acceleration from 0 to 13,000 miles per hour in the span
of 0.2 seconds.This also translates to an enormous amount of kinetic energy, at
a fraction of the mass needed for a normal bullet. A quick comparison: an
anti-armor projectile shot from a rail gun at 3,000 m/sec (almost twice the
speed of current kinetic energy penetrators) would only need to be roughly one-fifth
of the mass of a standard projectile to deliver the same amount of destructive
force. Electromagnetic-power also has the advantage of stealth: Reduced
logistics (rounds can have a smaller weight and volume), and the lack of
chemical propellant means it will be difficult for opponents to track.
How are these impressive speeds reached? A rail gun is
essentially two parallel conductive metal plates through which an electrical
current is passed. This electrical current creates opposed linear magnetic
fields along the axis of the rails. The projectile itself is placed between the
rails, and a "driver" (armature) is placed behind the projectile. The
function of the armature is to close the circuit between the two rails. When
the rails are energized, a third magnetic field is created in the armature
which is repulsed by the fields created in the rails, thus "driving"
it down the barrel. The energy required to drive projectiles at useful
velocities is enormous; peak power outputs are measured in millions of amperes.
The Navy has grabbed the most press
with its rail gun experiments but the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and
Lockheed Martin are developing an Electromagnetic (EM) Gun System in a
two-phase program. The first phase (scheduled to conclude in 2005) is centered
on a medium caliber gun demonstration, and demonstrating a single rotating
power supply. During Phase II (2005-2007), EM technologies will be integrated
into an armament test-bed, utilizing a large bore gun.
Fired at hyper velocities (10-100 kilometers/second),
projectiles weighing a fraction of a gram have enormous destructive potential,
and could be fired using the stored energy of a standard armored vehicle power
plant. In addition to combat (especially anti-armor and hard target
applications), EM research is also looking into using rail gun technology to
deliver supplies over long distances. Launched from a 100m ramp, a 300-pound
aerodynamic supply package could be "shot" over intervening terrain
and remotely guided to a designated landing area. The concept is sound -- it
only remains to develop the correct technology.
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