Weapons 15/03/20 PHOTO: U. S. NavyРельсотрон: what will be able to the us electromagnetic gun
the System of propellant and gun charges has itself been exhausted. Off go the guns of the new generation where the projectile will be pushed out by the electromagnetic pulse at hypersonic speeds. However, developers still have something to smash his head.
the weapons of the future
the Idea of creating electromagnetic gun appeared almost simultaneously in two countries – Russia and France, and when have not died down battles of the First world war. The basis was taken of the work of the German mathematician and mechanic Friedrich Gauss, who dealt with the theory of electromagnetism. Prototype showed a very modest result. The French gun was able to fire off a projectile at the speed of about 200 m/sec, which is much inferior to existing artillery systems. And the Russian sample remained in sketches.
For development back in the mid-twentieth century, when it became clear that the system operates on propellant gases, exhausted. 2.5 km/h was the speed limit for traditional guns. At the end of 1950-ies unwieldy scientific name of “electrodynamic mass accelerator” used to refer to electromagnetic guns, Soviet academician Lev Artsimovich was replaced by the term “railgun”.
the railgun is meant electromagnetic gun accelerates the projectile along two metal rails – rail connected to the powerful source of direct current. Acceleration is acquired as a result of the so-called Lorentz force: the electromagnetic field acts on a point charged particle rail, leading them to mutual repulsion. The electromagnetic energy interacts with the energy of the plasma which is formed in the combustion of the special bushings at the time of the current feed.
the Railgun hits the target due to the kinetic energy of the projectile, rashonausehost to super– or hypersonic speed. The potential target of a gun – ships of various classes, coastal fortifications and similar objects. Aimed at the creation of an electromagnetic gun military of the United States believe that these weapons will dramatically change the view on the conduct of hostilities.
Faster, further, higher
C 1970-ies, there comes a time of active development of electromagnetic guns. In the Soviet Union appears the experimental sample, shoot plastic ammunition the size of a bottle cork, the flight speed of which amounted to 9960 km/h. Killing power of the projectile was impressive – he broke three layers of aluminum with a thickness of 4 cm.
since 2005, the railguns are really interested in the Ministry of defense. Currently overseas undergoing testing 475-mm rail guns, developed by a company General Atomics and BAE Systems. Test firing in which course the American gun used a 23-kg shells of refractory tungsten, gave good results: the munition has a top speed of 2200 km/h and flew a distance of 175 km. Really initially, the developers planned to conquer the distance of 200 km.
the Pentagon intends to establish an experimental model for high-speed transport ship USNS “Millinocket”. If the experiment proves successful, the naval forces of the United States will begin a systematic process of equipping their ships rail guns. It was assumed that by 2024, the railgun will appear on the newest destroyers of the class “Zumwalt”, made by technology “stealth”. However, the construction of ships was delayed: instead of the planned 32 ships on the water was lowered only 3. But military historian Yuri Whips doubts that “Zumwalt” will become carriers of the rail guns. In his opinion, the energy system of the new destroyer is unable to meet the needs of railguns.
the Development of a railgun being in the Russian Federation. In particular, experts of one of the branches of the United institUta high temperatures RAS created a magnetic accelerator, which was able to disperse a bullet to a speed of 6.3 km/sec. First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on defense and security, Federation Council Frants Klintsevich confirms that in our country are actively working to develop electromagnetic gun, which, in particular, can be used to output into Earth orbit payloads.
the Main scare
Experts generally agree that railgun looks promising enough weapons, however at the level of ideas. The military expert of the magazine “Arsenal of the Fatherland” Dmitry Drozdenko noted that in the US electromagnetic gun is preparing to replace the expensive cruise missiles, however, while many challenges hamper the Pentagon in that direction. Meanwhile, the Secretary of naval forces of the United States ray Mabus criticized the program for development of electromagnetic gun, which, in his opinion, too long.
the Chief editor of the magazine “arms Export” Andrey Frolov notes that the railgun works on the same principles as laser weapons – it will require a large amount of energy. The expert examines all the statements of the us military on this score as a powerful public relations move, because the Pentagon need to at all began to press Congress for funds for new weapons, it is also important to scare your potential adversaries.
According to Frolov, the Americans focused on the development of rail guns for the Navy, as they are not yet ready to create mobile devices for placement on the armor. The expert believes that in the future, the railguns can be used as weapons, missile defense aimed at including and nuclear warheads.
Experts point out that, because of the small projectiles rail gun will greatly increase the ammo, but still needs to learn how to manage shells, which is not so easy. Rear Admiral United States Bryant fuller believes that the office will be OSUimplementation of a system using satellite-guided GPS – it will increase the efficiency of the railgun. But before this American developers is still far.
All about money
a Railgun has a lot of advantages over traditional tools, making this kind of weapons is extremely promising. For example, the cost of a single shot of magnetic cannon is 25 thousand dollars, while the price of the rocket ship-based – $ 1 million. However, there are a number of drawbacks that are not yet resolved. That is why the project, according to the Pentagon, is “in limbo.”
There are a number of flaws in the railgun, which you should get rid of: the large size, cumbersome process of reloading, cost power consumption, small service life. Need to increase effective range, which now does not exceed 40 km, which entails high consumption of ammunition.
There is a hypothesis that due to non-uniform curvature and gravitational irregularities of the Earth will suffer the accuracy and destructive power of electromagnetic gun in long range shooting. In addition, ultra-long flight of the projectile will be negatively affected by such factors as density, temperature, and humidity.
there are the experts questions about penetration of projectiles for electromagnetic guns. At large distances their slaughter will not exceed indicators of artillery of medium calibers. Yes, their speed will be much higher, but more modest in mass will allow you to place much less explosives.
While scientists can’t solve the rate of fire of the railgun because of the complexity of the process of reloading. Limited perspective gun and in life, as she quickly overheat and eventually deformed. Trials in the USA showed that prototypes enough for a couple of hundred shots.
Admiral of the U.S. Navy John Richardson recognizes that developers railguns still need polomats head on the many challenges, in particular, to increase the projectile speed to supersonic. In his opinion, in the foreseeable future, this instrument is unlikely to go into service with the us Navy.
Scientists will work to create more compact systems, more powerful cooling systems and more timely e-filling, which did not burn at hypersonic speeds, which will significantly increase the cost of the production process. At the moment, the Pentagon has invested in the development of railgun more than $500 million.
Taras Repin
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