BAe Electromagnetic Rail Gun

[Triton]

"BAE to develop EM railgun under US Navy’s INP programme Phase 2"
2 July 2013

Source:
http://www.naval-technology.com/news/newsbae-to-develop-em-railgun-under-us-navy-inp-programme-phase-2

BAE Systems has received a Phase 2 contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop an electromagnetic (EM) railgun under the US Navy's innovative naval prototype (INP) programme.

Under the $34.5m deal, the company will design and develop the EM railgun while the initial prototype launchers are expected to be delivered to the US Navy by 2014.

Phase 2 of the programme aims to enhance the railgun technology by integrating auto-loading and thermal management systems, as well as by maturing the launcher and pulsed power from a single shot operation to a multi-shot capability.

BAE Systems Weapon Systems vice-president and general manager Chris Hughes said the company would develop the technology, which is predicted to revolutionise naval warfare for the US Navy.

"The railgun's ability to defend against enemy threats from distances greater than ever before improves the capabilities of our armed forces," Hughes said.

In 2012, engineers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, US, have conducted test-firing of the BAE-built EM railgun prototype at tactical energy levels and demonstrated its capability, as part of Phase 1 of the INP programme.

The EM railgun long-range weapon system is capable of launching a projectile further and faster to hit the target using high-power electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants.

US Navy forces will use the railgun to support a wide range of missions, including precise surface fire support or land strikes, cruise and ballistic missile defence, as well as surface warfare to deter enemy vessels.

Work under the contract will be carried out by BAE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US as well as by its teammates IAP Research in Dayton, Ohio, and SAIC in Marietta, Georgia, US.

 

[Triton]

Uploaded on Feb 27, 2012

A test shot fires from the Office of Naval Research-funded Electromagnetic Railgun prototype launcher located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. The test shots begin a month-long series of full-energy tests to evaluate the technology. This prototype, developed by BAE, is the first of two industry-built launchers that will bring the Department of the Navy a step closer to producing a new-generation, long-range, weapon for surface ships.

http://youtu.be/-uV1SbEuzFU

 

[Triton]

Model of BAE Systems rail gun.

Source:
https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/bae-producing-scaleddown-rail-gun-naval-weapon-01986/
http://hicomm.bg/military/prototip-na-raboteshto-relsovo-orydie.html

 

[Triton]

Published on Apr 26, 2014

John Perry, Business Development Director at BAE Systems, briefs us on the Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) during Sea-Air-Space 2014 Naval Exposition
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index....

http://youtu.be/szhz9YMl4uE

 

[fredymac]

Year old video but some interesting comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eObepuHvYAw

 

[fredymac]

First test firing of variable elevation railgun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YvV8y32f0

 

[Moose]

That mount will also test the first generation autoloader.

 

[fightingirish]

Navy Railgun Successfully Fires Multi-Shot Salvos
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) demonstrates the Navy's electromagnetic railgun initial rep-rate fires of multi-shot salvos at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. The revolutionary railgun relies on a massive electrical pulse, rather than gunpowder or other chemical propellants, to launch projectiles at distances over 100 nautical miles – and at speeds that exceed Mach 6.

Video:
https://youtu.be/QO_zXuOQy6A

https://youtu.be/QO_zXuOQy6A

 

[sferrin]

A shame they cancelled the only class of ships that could realistically support such a weapon.

 

[bring_it_on]

Electromagnetic railgun will demo 10 rounds per minute

By the end of 2018, the Navy will test an electromagnetic railgun that can shoot 10 rounds per minute, according to a service official.

Within the year, Thomas Beutner, Naval Air Warfare and Weapons department head at the Office of Naval Research, told reporters July 20, a 32 megajoules electromagnetic railgun will be demonstrated at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dalhgren, VA, using a new composite launcher firing at 10 rounds per minute.

The service will also conduct the first-ever hypervelocity projectile flight demonstration in 2019, Beutner said.


In fiscal year 2019, the Navy will test the electromagnetic railgun with a series of different barrels to determine the best one for the fleet, Thomas Boucher, Naval Air Warfare and Weapons department program officer, said during the same presentation.

ONR will conclude its electromagnetic railgun program at the end of FY-19. Naval Sea Systems Command's program executive office for integrated weapons systems has a directed-energy program office that will then take the reins and determine the path ahead for the system.

 

[bring_it_on]

As it moves ahead with its laser development, the USN also is progressing with railgun testing, USN officials testified.

“A 10-round-per-minute test for the railgun is scheduled for later this year,” Vice Admiral William Merz, deputy chief of naval operations for Warfare Systems, told members of the HASC subcommittee on 6 March.

Adm Richardson told HAC members, “We’ve demonstrated it at shorter ranges. Now we have to do the engineering to crank it up. It involves a number of technologies.”

The barrel appears to be the limiting factor now, he said, due to the heat and pressure involved to sustain a necessary powered pulse.

“How do we generate power and pulse and get it [aboard] a ship?” Adm Richardson said. “We’ve made some progress in that area.”

The USN, he said, also has made progress in developing a high-velocity projectile that can be used for the railgun and potentially other weapon systems.

http://www.janes.com/article/78486/usn-usmc-accelerating-directed-energy-programmes