You guys laugh but that is the hottest menswear one can get. I mean, just look at it. The perfect blend of old and new.
PLA Small arms
- Thread starter Vanguard1688
- Start date
Oh not the PUBG rifle skins lmao
Got bored and had some free time so I went back to the SCMP article regarding the pistol railgun project in Wuhan and found some interesting comparisons. The railgun they made is said to have a 4.5-inch barrel and was able to put out close to 150 joules.
Now we don't know what type of bullet was shot out of it or what velocity was achieved but just for comparison, a 22LR can be around sub 100 to 191 joules.
Source:
And for the 9mm, it can be from sub 300 to as high as 540 joules.
Source:
Another comparison would be the standard US army cartridge, the M855A1 which has 1,859 joules when shot out of a 20-inch barrel.
Theoretically, if we were to increase the barrel length of the railgun to 14.5 inches which is more than 3 times the length of the pistol, we would be able to have a legitimate combat rifle or PDW. A rifle/PDW that would be stronger than a traditional pistol and about 1/3 to 1/4 of a standard rifle.
I don't know about you guys but as a gun nut and a lover of all small arms, this is an amazing development in small arms history. Hopefully, by 2030 we can get a true railgun PDW by then. I long for the day a railgun PDW can shoot over 3,000 fps out of a short barrel.
Now we don't know what type of bullet was shot out of it or what velocity was achieved but just for comparison, a 22LR can be around sub 100 to 191 joules.
Source:
And for the 9mm, it can be from sub 300 to as high as 540 joules.
Source:
Another comparison would be the standard US army cartridge, the M855A1 which has 1,859 joules when shot out of a 20-inch barrel.
Theoretically, if we were to increase the barrel length of the railgun to 14.5 inches which is more than 3 times the length of the pistol, we would be able to have a legitimate combat rifle or PDW. A rifle/PDW that would be stronger than a traditional pistol and about 1/3 to 1/4 of a standard rifle.
I don't know about you guys but as a gun nut and a lover of all small arms, this is an amazing development in small arms history. Hopefully, by 2030 we can get a true railgun PDW by then. I long for the day a railgun PDW can shoot over 3,000 fps out of a short barrel.
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Re: the pistol railgun in the SCMP article, was there any indication of battery / power source life?
Quote: "The prototype weapon developed by professor Zhang Xiao and her team at the Naval University of Engineering in Wuhan has a 12cm (4.5-inch) barrel, about the size of a pistol, which contains three battery-powered coils that generate an electromagnetic field."
Full article here:
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Coil gun PDW… yeah I am calling Wunderwaffe. First there are a number of kits and hobbiest who build such regularly. Even the flashy ones that the PLA had a photo shoot of yeah you can buy one now.
The problems are that though the weapon it’s self isn’t bad on weight the battery is going to be a pain. Like EVs your only going to get so many shots before your velocities are back to below 22lr. You are still having to carry magazines of ammunition on top of the battery. The cost and resources are going to be a pain in the arse to supply support maintain said weapons that from every realistic perspective are going to at best not going to match a conventional equivalent.
The problems are that though the weapon it’s self isn’t bad on weight the battery is going to be a pain. Like EVs your only going to get so many shots before your velocities are back to below 22lr. You are still having to carry magazines of ammunition on top of the battery. The cost and resources are going to be a pain in the arse to supply support maintain said weapons that from every realistic perspective are going to at best not going to match a conventional equivalent.
Given your enthusiasm for small arms, I'm sure you don't need me to describe how for a weapon to be a viable small arm, requires very high demands for size, reliability, logistics... that's even assuming the weapon can achieve satisfactory rate of fire, accuracy, kinetic performance to begin with.
Yes, it makes sense to pursue a variety of technological pathways for future small arms, and sure, eletromagnetic launch small arms are worth doing applied research for.
Applied R&D is worth doing across a variety of domains.
But applied R&D for a test rig or concept doesn't mean a test rig or concept is anything near resembling a viable weapon.
I hope you're not seriously suggesting that you expect to see a EM launch small arms by 2030, in a manner where it would have sufficient performance, reliability and reason to replace conventional small arms.
Heck, for 2030, I would be impressed if the PLA are able to issue LPVOs with a FF handguard kit for their 191s in wide numbers.
I'm just trying to think if there are any applications of having a handheld size railgun connected via cable to a fixed / semi mobile power source e.g. generator, that would be more advantageous to just carrying a firearm...
Just thinking out aloud: Battery with integrated projectile container, like a camera film roll that also contains the battery, given the battery is expected to be drained fairly quickly, e.g. battery pack incl. 100 projectiles... And you just carry the integrated battery packs?
Maybe railguns are only practical / cost effective for heavy / large weapons
Let's wait for a military to actually widely field a EM gun of some kind for an extended period (1-2 decades) in service first, before thinking about whether the concept as a whole even has the practical potential to be applied and scaled for other uses.