The US Navy is preparing to test on the water the electric gun of the future - the railgun
In 2016, the US Navy will begin testing on the railgun water. Railgun , or rail gun - a weapon in which the projectile is not ejected with an explosive, but with a very powerful current pulse. The shell is located between two parallel electrodes - rails. The projectile acquires acceleration due to the Lorentz force, which occurs when the circuit is closed. With the help of a railgun it is possible to accelerate a projectile to much higher speeds than with a powder charge. The shot of the railgun looks like this:
Modern experimental installations of the US Navy are capable of accelerating a projectile weighing 2-3 kilograms to a speed of 2500 meters per second. At such speeds, there is no longer any need for explosives - the kinetic energy of the projectile is enough to cause the target no less damage than the charge of the TNT. Now the muzzle energy of the railgun was able to bring up to 33 MJ. By 2025, it is planned to reach 64 MJ.
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At the present stage of development of technology railgun - cumbersome and voracious device. It requires a huge battery of capacitors, capable of delivering a powerful current pulse. For the tests of 2016, the railgun will be installed on the destroyer of the new generation Zamvolt , which was designed with the reserve capacity of the power plant sufficient for the railgun. Its power plant is capable of producing 78 megawatts, which is comparable to the consumption of a small city. To install rail guns on other ships, the option of using buffer batteries, which will gradually accumulate energy for the shot, is being considered.
The destroyer "Zamvolt"
Despite the high demands on the ship’s power system, the military is looking at the railgun as a way to cut costs. A single railgun shell costs only $ 25,000 - quite a bit against the background of conventional ammunition or, especially, rockets. In addition, shells for railguns are much smaller and safer during storage. The firing range of the railgun can reach 180, and in the future - 400 km. This is much more than traditional artillery and is comparable to medium-range missiles, which cost about a million dollars apiece.
Railgun is not the only electrical innovation in the US Navy. In the summer of this year, a laser gun designed to destroy small and mobile targets, such as drones or boats, will be installed aboard the USS Ponce, a landing ship of the US Navy. One of the main incentives to create such weapons is also its low cost - one small anti-aircraft missile costs several hundred thousand dollars, and the laser requires only a few tens of kilowatts of electricity for its work. About tests of this laser wrote on Habré last year.
Modern experimental installations of the US Navy are capable of accelerating a projectile weighing 2-3 kilograms to a speed of 2500 meters per second. At such speeds, there is no longer any need for explosives - the kinetic energy of the projectile is enough to cause the target no less damage than the charge of the TNT. Now the muzzle energy of the railgun was able to bring up to 33 MJ. By 2025, it is planned to reach 64 MJ.
')
At the present stage of development of technology railgun - cumbersome and voracious device. It requires a huge battery of capacitors, capable of delivering a powerful current pulse. For the tests of 2016, the railgun will be installed on the destroyer of the new generation Zamvolt , which was designed with the reserve capacity of the power plant sufficient for the railgun. Its power plant is capable of producing 78 megawatts, which is comparable to the consumption of a small city. To install rail guns on other ships, the option of using buffer batteries, which will gradually accumulate energy for the shot, is being considered.
The destroyer "Zamvolt"
Despite the high demands on the ship’s power system, the military is looking at the railgun as a way to cut costs. A single railgun shell costs only $ 25,000 - quite a bit against the background of conventional ammunition or, especially, rockets. In addition, shells for railguns are much smaller and safer during storage. The firing range of the railgun can reach 180, and in the future - 400 km. This is much more than traditional artillery and is comparable to medium-range missiles, which cost about a million dollars apiece.
Railgun is not the only electrical innovation in the US Navy. In the summer of this year, a laser gun designed to destroy small and mobile targets, such as drones or boats, will be installed aboard the USS Ponce, a landing ship of the US Navy. One of the main incentives to create such weapons is also its low cost - one small anti-aircraft missile costs several hundred thousand dollars, and the laser requires only a few tens of kilowatts of electricity for its work. About tests of this laser wrote on Habré last year.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/213591/
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