PRC/PLAN Laser and Rail Gun Development Thread

[Blitzo]

I think this is a more appropriate thread. Included photos are also slightly larger than the CJDBY versions.

General consensus at the moment is this is a railgun prototype and the containers seen on deck are the power supply units. Speculation is also rife that an LST was chosen to be the testbed because the usual test ship's electricity generation was insufficient to power the gun and it didn't have enough free deck space to host auxiliary generators.

In the famous words of The Senate:

 

[Hendrik_2000]

Via Yusheng from pakdef seem to be underdevelopment for a long time and I guess they solve the barrel life, power requirement etc
rough translation:

1. The electromagnetic gun was developed is known by everyone, and it is said that it was jointly conducted by the north institute of technology and the aerospace unit. This is not certain, but it doesn't matter. The Chinese do it anyway.
2. The electromagnetic gun is officially established by the navy, which is determined that the project has been established for about 5 or 6 years. Now, the test on the prototype of the ship is reasonable from the schedule.
3, why not use 909 weapons comprehensive experiment ship, mostly because the power supply problem, 909 ship power plant is fixed, to change for the electromagnetic gun test station, the extra volume is too big.
4. Why use the 072 large landing ship as the testing platform, the reason is as same as above. The tank space of 072 is very large, and there is no problem with the layout of several power stations, which can solve the load demand of the electromagnetic gun. In the picture, the bow gate of 072 has been sealed, and it is estimated that the diving board is also dismantled.
5. Two container modules on deck shall be control room; The pictures did not say where, but it should be in wuhan. The ship built the landing ship, familiar with the structure of the landing ship, and it was easy to adapt.

 

[kurutoga]

5. Two container modules on deck shall be control room; The pictures did not say where, but it should be in wuhan. The ship built the landing ship, familiar with the structure of the landing ship, and it was easy to adapt.

Yep. If it is a regular 155mm gun, we can't explain what the two large cargo containers are for

 

[asif iqbal]

Rail guns, lasers and electromagnetic launch

These technologies will allow China to leap frog many advanced nations

I would call these critical technology’s

 

[Insignius]

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[manqiangrexue]

Quite a surprise today. I always thought that the PLAN may not prioritize rail-guns since they are inferior to supersonic anti-shipping missiles due to their low range (100 miles) and inability to maneuver but of course, they are a big improvement over traditional artillery guns. I also thought that the USN was far ahead in terms of naval rail-gun tech, though I knew they were still slowly working out several kinks. Shock and delight are severe understatements to describe the realization that China was progressing more aggressively in secret and now, has become the first country to mount a rail-gun to a ship!

For me, this supports the possibility that Chinese carrier EMALS tech/performance has also matured to a level beyond that of the USN, as was previously claimed.

All that said, this is only the first test; there is no guarantee that it will make it to production with the PLAN. Nonetheless, good luck and wishes for success to the team!

 

[Insignius]

There is no reason why railgun rounds cant be maneuverable. They need to be made precision guided, after all, so that they are useful for actual OTH surface engagement (and anti air/anti missile use).
Thank should be directed to Prof Ma Weiming, who is the brain behind all these new EM weapons and energy sytsems.

 

[latenlazy]

Why would a railgun round need to be maneuverable? It travels at hypersonic speeds.

 

[Insignius]

because it needs to be guided to actually hit anything beyond a few dozen km.

 

[Hendrik_2000]

I like this paragraph indeed if it succesful it become the swiss knife, jack of all trade and panacea

According to the U.S. Navy’s own public plans, they envision a weapon that would give ships significantly increased range over existing cannons, allows those vessels them to engage targets faster, and has the ability to hit enemy forces on land and at sea, as well as knock down aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. On top of that, it could make those ships less vulnerable and ease the strain on the logistics chain, since the ammunition is inert and doesn’t require an explosive charge to sending it flying down range. These features also mean the weapon could be cheaper than a traditional gun system and give ships more magazine depth by storing more rounds in the same space that propelling charges previously occupied. You can read more about these potential benefits

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.

As such, the weapons could be useful for both a wide array of different mission sets, including

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and

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, both of which are important considerations for China, which has vast maritime territorial claims. The PLAN is already in the midst of a major push to expand

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of

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, as well.

Here is comparable system from Bae

US Railgun