Development of a naval railgun

The U.S. Navy is considering the development of electromagnetic railguns for future ships for naval surface-fire support (NSFS) and other missions. To reach long ranges, muzzle velocities in excess of 2000 m/s with projectile flight mass of 16 kg and above are needed. Relatively high firing rates ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on magnetics 2005-01, Vol.41 (1), p.206-210
Main Authors: McNab, I.R., Stefani, F., Crawford, M., Erengil, M., Persad, C., Satapathy, S., Vanicek, H., Watt, T., Dampier, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Electric power generation
Electromagnetic railgun
Exact sciences and technology
fire support
Firing
Guns
kinetic energy
Magnetism
Marine vehicles
Missions
Naval
Naval engineering
Navy
Other techniques and industries
Packaging
Power system restoration
projectile
Projectiles
Propulsion
Pulse power systems
pulsed power
Pulsed power supplies
Railguns
Ships
Space technology
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Summary:The U.S. Navy is considering the development of electromagnetic railguns for future ships for naval surface-fire support (NSFS) and other missions. To reach long ranges, muzzle velocities in excess of 2000 m/s with projectile flight mass of 16 kg and above are needed. Relatively high firing rates are desired; typically 6-12 rounds per minute, so substantial power demands will be made on the ship. For an electrically driven ship, as in the DD(X) concepts presently being explored by the Navy, an existing electrical infrastructure would be in place that could be modified to recharge the pulsed power supplies for the railgun. This study focused on the railgun, the pulsed power system needed to drive the gun, the power system needed to restore the energy required to match the firing rate, and special ship interfaces. Railgun concepts and sizing for the NSFS mission were undertaken, and research and development issues of importance for the success of a future system were identified. Recommendations for analytical and experimental studies that should be undertaken to further address these issues are provided.
ISSN:0018-9464
1941-0069
DOI:10.1109/TMAG.2004.839285