In this respect, it sounds like Ma Weiming could potentially re-introduce the dreadnaught into the 21st Century, except chemically-powered guns would all be replaced by electric ones. In fact, if EMRGs could someday fire guided anti-ship projectiles up to 400-500km, the role of anti-ship missiles could be downgraded to auxiliary ones (with the exception of LRASM type weapon).
PRC/PLAN Laser and Rail Gun Development Thread
- Thread starter SinoSoldier
- Start date
For the previous message.
It'd be challenging to design a missile that can survive the magnetic force of the railgun. Railguns + a hypersonic guide vehicle, however, is highly promising. Imagine the equivalent of a carrier killer being shot twice a minute from a railgun.
And what would these electric boats use versus submarines? A spread discharge field to prematurely detonate incoming torpedoes?
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
It is not just rate of fire but also the propability that the sabot will hit the missile that count. With its higher speed and straight trajectory coupled with firing control that can predict the opposing missile trajectory
Add to that the tremendous energy it will easily shove any large missile
the present 30mm slug is not good enough against large missile
Reminds me of when the J-20 first came out.
Site owner must be happy about all the incoming traffic.
I think from the cylindrical barrel "sleeve" it is more likely to be a coilgun rather than a railgun.
This setup will still require VLS, however. I doubt EM guns will have the surface reach of 800+ km ASCMs, or the aerial reach of 200+ km SAMs, or be able to travel underwater to attack subs at any distance.
The problem is, railguns, like most guns designed for ballistic flight, are inaccurate. A mach 8 projectile versus a missile 100 km away is still going to take half a minute to get there, in which time the missile could have shifted position. There's a reason CIWS relies on volume of fire to shoot down missiles.
The Gauss Gun (cooler name than coil gun) theory actually pans out. Gauss Guns, versus Railguns, are more fragile and expensive, since the number of magnets is increased compared to a railgun, but China has a lot of research in civilian EM. It's possible that China has managed to get the cost down with their gauss guns through mass production.