FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 6, 2012
By Grace Jean, Office of Naval Research
ARLINGTON, Va.—The Office of Naval Research (ONR)’s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility in Dahlgren, Va., officials said Feb. 6.
“This is the next step toward a future tactical system that will be placed on board a ship some day,” said Roger Ellis, program manager of EM Railgun.
The EM Railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants. Magnetic fields created by high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails to launch projectiles at 4,500 mph to 5,600 mph.
With its increased velocity and extended range, the EM Railgun will give Sailors a multi-mission capability, allowing them to conduct precise naval surface fire support, or land strikes; cruise missile and ballistic missile defense; and surface warfare to deter enemy vessels. Navy planners are targeting a 50- to 100-nautical mile initial capability with expansion up to 220 nautical miles.
The EM Railgun program, part of ONR’s Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department, previously relied upon government laboratory-based launchers for testing and advancing railgun technology. The first industry-built launcher, a 32-megajoule prototype demonstrator made by BAE Systems, arrived at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren Jan. 30. One megajoule of energy is equivalent to a 1-ton car traveling at 100 miles per hour.
“This industry prototype represents a step beyond our previous successful demonstrations of the laboratory launcher,” Ellis said.
The prototype demonstrator incorporates advanced composites and improved barrel life performance resulting from development efforts on the laboratory systems located at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and NSWC-Dahlgren. The EM Railgun laboratory demonstrator based at NSWC-Dahlgren fired a world record setting 33-megajoule shot in December 2010.
The industry demonstrator will begin test firing this month as the EM Railgun program prepares for delivery of a second prototype launcher built by General Atomics.
In the meantime, the Navy is pushing ahead with the next phase of the EM Railgun program to develop automatic projectile loading systems and thermal management systems to facilitate increased firing rates of the weapon.
“The next phase of the development effort is to demonstrate the ability to operate at a firing rate of significant military utility,” Ellis said.
ONR recently awarded $10 million contracts through Naval Sea Systems Command to Raytheon Corp., BAE Systems and General Atomics to develop a pulsed power system for launching projectiles in rapid succession. These new contracts kick off a five-year effort to achieve a firing rate of six to 10 rounds per minute.
BAE Systems and General Atomics also are commencing concept development work on the next-generation prototype EM Railgun capable of the desired firing rate.
News: Navy to Begin Tests on Electromagentic Railgun Prototype Launcher - Office of Naval Research
Look Out, Pyongyang? Rail Gun in the Works
One of the big selling points of the Navy’s new destroyer is that it can rain a whole lot of hell — 20 rocket-propelled artillery shells, in less than a minute — on targets up to 63 nautical miles away. Fully armed, two DDG1000s should have the firepower of an entire, 640-man artillery battalion, the Navy promises.
But really, that’s the start. The ship’s real power will come when it moves away from chemical powders to shoot its projectiles — and starts relying on electromagnetic fields to shoot projectiles almost six kilometers/second, instead. With an electromagnetic rail gun pushing the rounds out so quickly, the number of rounds fired per ship would jump from 232 to 5000, Navy planners believe. (Military.com has a great primer on how it works.) Because they travel so fast — nearly Mach 7 — the destructive force those rounds deliver would more than double, from 6.6 megajoules to 17. And they would fly almost five times farther — up to 300 nautical miles. That’s enough to put 100% of targets in North Korea “at Risk” from a single battleship, a Navy briefing notes (right, sorry for the crappy scan).
No wonder the Office of Naval Research just handed General Atomics Aeronautical Systems a $9.6-million, 30-month contract for the preliminary design of an electromagnetic launcher, Defense Daily reports.
But don’t expect to see a rail gun around North Korea any time soon. The destroyer program is in flux. And the Navy isn’t looking for a “full-scale demonstration” of the rail gun until “around 2014,” DD notes. “If the acquisition community decides to place it on a ship it could be done around the 2019 time frame.“
Read more: http://defensetech.org/2006/06/20/lo...#ixzz1s6alMyt8
Defense.org
This is not your father’s Navy warship. Well it’s not my father’s either – since he’s never owned one – but you get my point. Check out the new digs on the Navy‘s wave of the future. Isn’t she a beauty? I’d like to introduce you to (the rendered conception of) the DDG 1002 Zumwalt Class Warship. It’s the latest thing in intimidating, high tech maritime awesomeness.
Or it will be, once construction is completed.
The Zumwalt, taking shape at Bath Iron Works, is the biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy. DDG 1000 is the first of a new class of warships in the US Navy’s revolutionary vision for 21st Century surface combatant designs. What does that mean?
So glad you asked…
The ship is designed as a multi-mission destroyer able to provide independent forward presence and deterrence. It’s also designed to operate as an integral part of a joint or multi-national naval task force. The primary mission emphasis is on land attack, maritime dominance and joint interoperability. This will enable the DDG 1000 to control the littoral battlespace and deliver more ordnance on target over a broader range of military objectives than any surface combatant ever put to sea.
Basically, it’s a multi-purpose, water-treading, techno-ship capable of handling multiple situations with equal levels of stealth, firepower and let’s face it, finesse. No other ship balances power and class on the high seas quite like this baby.
The Zumwalt’s new technology will allow the warship to deter and defeat aggression and to maintain operations in areas where an enemy seeks to deny access, both on the open ocean and in operations closer to shore, the Navy says. The warship is looking to get some pretty sweet features, too. We’re talking a wave-piercing hull, electric drive propulsion, and advanced sonar.
Oh, and let’s not forget the rocket-propelled warheads that can shoot as far as 100 miles.
This thing is longer and heavier than its predecessors, by the way, but only needs half the crew size. Why? Well a lot of this ship will rely on automated systems.
This warship integrates numerous critical technologies, systems, and principles into a complete warfighting system. These include employment of optimal manning through human systems integration, improved quality of life, low operations and support costs, multi-spectral signature reduction, balanced warfighting design, survivability, and adaptability.
Talk about swift, silent and deadly.
“DDG 1000 is a vessel that fits within our Defense Strategic Guidance. With its stealth, incredibly capable sonar system, strike capability, and lower manning requirements – this is our future,” said Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations. The Zumwalt-class ships are being built with modern, modular shipbuilding methods, allowing for construction of much larger units with greater degrees of outfitting achieved prior to ship assembly.
So when does this behemoth hit the international waves?
DDG 1002 is expected to deliver to the Navy in fiscal year 2018. It might be a few years away, but we’re already seeing a trend toward technology-driven visions for the future of the military. What’s next? Bullet proof armor suits? Robots integrated into the ranks? Illogical-but-still-awesome jet packs become standard GI issue?
Okay, maybe not the last one, but I believe that the future of the force is going to utilize the best and brightest in technology and people.
I gotta say, with this warship on the future maritime playing field, Battleship is never going to be the same.
Information for this article provided by the Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications
The Newest Thing in Navy Warships�|�Armed with Science
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