Navy close on making super-powerful railgun

(CBS/AP) NORFOLK, Va. - A super-powerful gun that shoots rounds more than 100 miles away — at several times the speed of sound — is being developed for Navy warships.

The weapon is known as an electromagnetic railgun. It consists of parallel rails and uses a magnetic field and electric current, instead of chemicals, to generate energy to fire the rounds.

The Navy said Tuesday an industry-built prototype of the gun is being tested at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in northern Virginia. At this stage, they're focused on measuring the gun's barrel life and structural integrity because it is capable of firing rounds at up to 5,600 miles per hour, or more than seven times the speed of sound. More research and development is needed to over the next five years to ensure the weapon can cool down and handle repetitive fire. The Navy wants to be able to fire 10 rounds a minute.

They're also working to ensure that the roughly 40-pound metal projectile the gun will ultimately fire can withstand the heat and G-forces from the launch and will not disintegrate. And they need to make sure any electronics in the projectile, such as a GPS system, are safe.

One of the main reasons behind the Navy's railgun program is that being able to power the gun electromagnetically is seen as much safer than having to use conventional explosives, CNET's Daniel Terdiman reported in January.

Navy railgun with 220 mile range closer to reality

Navy researchers said the weapon's high-velocity and range would allow ships to provide support for Marines storming a beach. It could also target enemy ships and provide self-defense against cruise and ballistic missiles.

Currently, 5-inch guns on destroyers have a range of about 15 miles.

"As you can see, it represents a significant increase in range," Roger Ellis, the Office of Naval Research's electromagnetic railgun program manager, said in a conference call with reporters.

Ellis said that because the gun can fire at such high speeds, it wouldn't necessarily have to shoot an explosive to inflict damage, either. He would only say that it would carry a "lethal mechanism."

The Navy has been developing the weapon since 2005 at a cost of about $240 million. Similar funding is expected to keep the program going through 2017, when the Navy anticipates the weapon will be ready. It could still take several more years before the gun is put on ships.

The 40-feet-long gun being tested more closely mirrors a final product than previous versions. It has been test fired six times since last week.

A second industry-built prototype will be delivered to the Navy for testing in April.

General Atomics, one of the companies providing a prototype, has also invested $20 million.

"We believe this is definitely a game changing capability that'll enable our forward presence and freedom of the seas," said Tom Hurn, director of railgun programs, for General Atomics, one of the two companies providing a prototype.

[philmorew]

Hmmm, I wonder if they could make a rail gun large enough and powerful enough to fire lead/steel encased used uranium rod segments into deep space thus making atomic energy plants a bit less unsavory. They could do it over an extended period using excess electricity electric plants generate during transitions from day to night energy consumption.

[slightlyoffthewall]

the navy has been very innovative--they're trying to convert to green energy too.

[KansasCity-2012]

It's a little abstract for many to realize what life would be like on the receiving end of this weapon. Imagine yourself in a tranquil setting and hearing explosions 6 seconds apart. Even radars wouldn't easily detect an incoming barrage of these babies flying in, and if one actually did, there wouldn't even be time to decide what to say in your last prayer or final words. A retaliation order may not even get out if it had to be repeated through a chain of command.

[Jesus_to_ground_control]

Particle-Ray Gun

Instead of accelerating a particle (projectile) in a strait line, it would prove more efficient to accelerate the kinetic energy of the projectile by spinning it on itself (using mobius config-wave amplification). Once the projectile has acquired the proper spin speed (kinetic energy) then powerful pulse magnetic fields redirect the spin towards one direction.

[noloyalisti]

Oh great, that is the only thing America is good at now, building weapons. We failed at banking and finance, failed at capitalism and democracy and failed at manufacturing.

[DF68]

Couple it with Sandia Labs's self-guided bullet technology and this railgun ammo might be very accurate.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/02/sandia-labs-self-guided-bullet-for-future-soldiers/

[BigBlivefromny]

good luck withthis one. sounds like a lot of intangibles involved in its production. no explosives necessary to propel shell, but what if the barrell of the weapon itself explodes from forces involved!?

[luna2b]

Rail guns don't have barrels, per se. That's why they are called "rail" guns. So they don't have the pressures involved with an explosive charge like a regular gun. That's what makes them safer. It's like a giant electromagnet. And rail guns have been around for years as experiments. Just not really powerful ones.

[myopinionpal]

I would like to know why the Dept Of Defense have to tell the press about everything that they are making.During the cold war that was unheard of.

[John782011]

Actually during the cold war there was often news releases like these. The Rail Gun has been out there as a potential weapons technnology since the Reagan Star Wars program. There are times that programs that need a boost in congressional funding get more press to get popular opinion behind it.

[notparicular]

Sounds like interest technology. Wish I could get involved in the development team.

[John782011]

Kind of like javalin catcher, not many make it past tryouts let alone the apprenticeship program.

[username751]

With this technology, I could be to work in five minutes. Might take longer peeling me off the side of the building.