As citizens and politicians argue about how not to spend tax dollars, the U.S. navy seems to be gaining ground in persuading congress in spending hundreds of millions. A new type of gun that was previously thought as impractical and a waste of time, energy, and money may soon get back on the design track. This new weapon is called an electromagnetic rail gun and it works by accelerating a 20+ lb aluminum “bullet” around hypersonic speeds (Mach 5) towards the enemy.
Congress was skeptical as early designs did not include a barrel for the gun but new footage of preliminary tests by the company BEA Systems and the Office of Naval Research show a functioning rail gun with a barrel. These tests shot a 23 lb bullet at 5500 ft/s using 33 Mega Joules of energy. While these results have convinced the navy that this project should be pursued, there is still more development needed before battleships can handle these weapons.
The Navy wants guns that can shoot 10 times per minute, which means that the barrel will need to withstand the punishment. The firing needs to reduce the demand on the ships energy supplies. So additional energy-dense batteries for the gun will be need to be added. Each projectile has to be equipped with processing systems to guide its trajectory. Lastly, the blast cannot damage the onboard components. A new thermal managing systems are in development as well.
The companies BEA Systems and General Atomics are hard at work on this project. So far the effort has cost about $240 millions dollars, and it is expected to cost around twice this amount by the time it is complete and ready to buy. We may not have jobs in 2020, but the Navy counts on having these rail guns ready for war.
Eavesdropper
