US Navy's 'Star Wars' weapon that can fire shells at mach 6 and penetrate concrete 100 MILES away shown in public for first time
시제품 전자레일건은 미국 워싱턴D '해군 미래전력 엑스포'에 5일까지 전시됐다.
전자레일건은160km거리의 목표물에 2400m/s 속도로 10kg 무게의 포탄을 전함에서 발사할 수 있다.
현재 전함에는 12기의 미사일이 장착되어 있는데 대당 60만 파운드(미화 91만불, 한화 약 10억원)를 호가한다.
이 레일건을 사용하면 대당 15천파운드(미화 22.8천불 한화 25백만원)의 비용으로 수백기를 장착할 수 있다.
레일건은 포탄의 폭발력보다 속도에 의한 파괴력을 사용한다.
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Technology fires a shell weighing 10kg at up to 5,400mph over 100 miles
Warships can carry dozens of conventional missiles, costing around £600,000 each, but could be loaded with hundreds of railgun projectiles, at only £15,000 each
Weapon uses speed rather than explosives to destroy its target and comes equipped with menacing Latin motto 'I, who am speed, eradicate'
By Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com
A radical new weapon that can fire a shell at seven times the speed of sound has been shown off in public for the first time.
Described as 'Star Wars technology' by researchers, the railgun can fire shells at seven times speed of sound, and penetrate concrete 100 miles away.
The weapon was on display to the public for the first time at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology EXPO at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
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Using electromagnetic energy, the gun can fire a shell weighing 10kg at up to 5,400mph over 100 miles – with such force and accuracy it penetrates three concrete walls or six half-inch thick steel plates.
Two prototypes of the weapon have been developed for the US Navy – one by British arms manufacturer BAE Systems and the second by a US firm.
The BAE version was shown off this week.
Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, head of US Naval Research, said the futuristic electromagnetic railgun – so called because it fires from two parallel rails – had already undergone extensive testing on land.
It will be mounted on high-speed vessel the USNS Millinocket for sea trials in 2016.
'It's now reality and it's not science fiction,' Admiral Klunder said.
'It's firing. An electromagnetic railgun is a gun that uses just electricity – no gun powder – and … can shoot a projectile well over 100 miles at Mach 7. Energetic weapons, such as EM railguns, are the future of naval combat.'
Electromagnetic launchers were one of the areas researched by Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative, nicknamed 'Star Wars' after the science fiction film franchise.
Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, head of US Naval Research, said the futuristic electromagnetic railgun – so called because it fires from two parallel rails – had already undergone extensive testing on land
Admiral Klunder added: 'It will help us in air defence, it will help us in cruise missile defence, it will help us in ballistic missile defence … we're also talking about a gun that's going to shoot a projectile that's about one one-hundredth of the cost of an existing missile system today.
'It … will give our adversaries a huge moment of pause to go, 'Do I even want to go engage a naval ship?'.'
The weapon uses speed rather than explosives to destroy its target and comes equipped with the menacing Latin motto 'I, who am speed, eradicate'
Warships can carry dozens of conventional missiles, which cost around £600,000 each, but could be loaded with hundreds of railgun projectiles, at only £15,000 each.
The projectiles,Hyper Velocity Projectiles, are also under developemtn by BAE.
It is a next-generation, guided projectile capable of completing multiple missions for the Electromagnetic Railgun, as well as existing 5-inch and 155-mm gun systems.
'The HVP takes the next evolutionary step in providing an affordable, precise, multi-mission capability for multiple gun platforms,' said Chris Hughes, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems.
'We look forward to applying our expertise and technologies to this important program.'
The HVP is designed to provide lethality and performance enhancements to current and future gun systems.
The objective of the first phase is to produce a concept design and development roadmap towards fully guided flight demonstrations.
The weapon uses speed rather than explosives to destroy its target and comes equipped with the menacing Latin motto 'I, who am speed, eradicate'.
Using an electromagnetic force known as the Lorenz Force, the gun accelerates a projectile between two rails that conduct electricity, before launching it at ferocious speed.
This means the railgun can fire further than conventional guns and maintain enough kinetic energy to inflict tremendous damage.
Railguns were first conceived of nearly a century ago and patented by French inventor Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee.
Nazi Germany took up the research during the Second World War to adapt its anti-aircraft guns.
The first sea trials of the new railguns will take place in 2016 aboard high-speed vessel the USNS Millinocket (artist's impression above)
