US Laser and Rail Gun Development News

Rutim

Banned Idiot
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

This can happen in the areas around China when the wind blows from the contintent into Yellow and East China Seas and the PM2,5 and PM10 measurements run wild in South Korea and Japan. It's not possible - it's happening. Of course it's not as dense as around Beijing of course but one have to consider this effect and be aware of it. And those are certainly areas where US Navy operates.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

TImes of Isreal = Israeli Iron Beam laser air defense system 'brings down mortars like flies' creator says
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
04/02/2014 16:16

Innovation of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems company is designed for threats too small to be dealt with by existing systems. US laser weapon technology
US laser weapon technology Photo: US Navy Illustration A new air defense system being developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which uses lasers to shoot down low altitude threats, is able to bring down "mortars like flies," Rafael's CEO told the Israel Defense website on Wednesday.

Vice Admiral (Ret.) Yedidia Yaari, former chief of the Israel Navy, said the Iron Beam system will be "very effective" once it becomes operational.

Israel Defense cited Yaari as saying that that Iron Beam successfully passed a feasibility test, and is currently in development stages.

Iron Beam fires lasers at mortar shells, and has proven a high rate of accuracy, Yaari said, describing the system as "highly impressive." It was first unveiled formally by state-owned Rafael during the Singapore Air Show last month.

The system is designed to deal with threats that fly on too small a trajectory to be engaged efficiently by Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries.

Iron Dome is complemented by Arrow II, an Israeli interceptor designed to shoot down ballistic missiles at atmospheric heights. Israel plans to integrate them with the more powerful rocket interceptors Arrow III - which will intercept ballistic missiles in space - and David's Sling - designed for large rockets and cruise missiles - both of which are still under development.

The United States has extensively underwritten the projects, seeing them as a means of reassuring its Middle East ally as instability rocks the region.

An industry official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters in January that Iron Beam would form the "fifth layer" of integrated missile defense.

Reuters contributed to this report
Ground based Laser defense system out side of US
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

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Yahoo News said:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is planning sea trials for a weapon that can fire a low-cost, 23-pound (10-kg) projectile at seven times the speed of sound using electromagnetic energy, a "Star Wars" technology that will make enemies think twice, the Navy's research chief said.

Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, the chief of Naval Research, told a round table group recently the futuristic electromagnetic rail gun had already undergone extensive testing on land and would be mounted on the USNS Millinocket, a high-speed vessel, for sea trials beginning in 2016.

"It's now reality and it's not science fiction. It's actually real. You can look at it. It's firing," said Klunder, who planned to discuss progress on the system later on Monday with military and industry leaders at a major maritime event - the Sea-Air-Space Exposition - near Washington.

"It will help us in air defense, it will help us in cruise missile defense, it will help us in ballistic missile defense," he said. "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."

The Navy research chief said that cost differential - $25,000 for a railgun projectile versus $500,000 to $1.5 million for a missile - will make potential enemies think twice about the economic viability of engaging U.S. forces.

"That ... will give our adversaries a huge moment of pause to go: 'Do I even want to go engage a naval ship?'" Klunder told reporters. "You could throw anything at us, frankly, and the fact that we now can shoot a number of these rounds at a very affordable cost, it's my opinion that they don't win."

U.S. officials have voiced concerns that tight defense budgets could cause the Pentagon to lose its technological edge over China, Russia and other rivals, who have been developing antiship ballistic missile systems and integrated air defenses capable of challenging U.S. air and naval dominance.

Weapons like the electromagnetic rail gun could help U.S. forces retain their edge and give them an asymmetric advantage over rivals, making it too expensive to use missiles to attack U.S. warships because of the cheap way to defeat them.

Railguns use electromagnetic energy known as the Lorenz Force to launch a projectile between two conductive rails. The high-power electric pulse generates a magnetic field to fire the projectile with very little recoil, officials said.

The U.S. Navy has funded two single-shot railgun prototypes, one by privately held General Atomics and the other by BAE Systems. Klunder said he had selected BAE for the second phase of the project, which will look at developing a system capable of firing multiple shots in succession.

Current projectiles leaving a railgun have a muzzle energy of about 32 megajoules of force, said Rear Admiral Bryant Fuller, the Navy's chief engineer. He said one megajoule would move a one-ton object at about 100 mph.

"We're talking about a projectile that we're going to send well over 100 miles, we're talking about a projectile that can go over Mach 7, we're talking about a projectile that can go well into the atmosphere," Klunder said.

Ships can carry dozens of missiles, but they could be loaded with hundreds of railgun projectiles, he said.

"Your magazine never runs out, you just keep shooting, and that's compelling," Klunder said.

The 2016 sea trials will be conducted aboard the joint forces high-speed cargo ship because it has the space to carry the system on its deck and in its cargo bay. Officials said they would begin looking at integrating the system into warships after 2018.


railgun-08.jpg

 

Miragedriver

Brigadier
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

Absolutely amazing! With proper funding and implementation this weapon is a game changer.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

Absolutely amazing! With proper funding and implementation this weapon is a game changer.
Well, they have already chosen the vessel on which it will be tested at sea in 2016 and 2017. It will be the USNS Millinocket, JHSV-3, Joint High Speed vessel.


JHSV-Rail-Gun.jpg


I am sure they are already well along in the designing of the housing and structural and electrical additions necessary to enable it. My guess is that sometime late this year or early next, that they will start retrofitting the Millinocket to prepare her.

Then, we also know that General Atomics is already preparing all of the necessary design to implement the weapon on the Burke class AEGIS destroyers, so I expect as long as everything goes well in 2016-2017, that they will meet the schedule to actually deploy one on a surface combatant in 2018 and I bet its a Burke...though the Zumwalt's will also be naturals for this technology.

When you add to this the fact that the US has already tested its laser weapons on a Burke destroyer (a live fire LAWS test was conducted on the USS Dewey, DDG 105, off San Diego in April 2013) and currently has a laser actually deployed on the USS Ponce, you can see that in the 2020s that US surface combat and anti-air defense is going to be poised to undergo a very significant evolution.
 
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

I just wonder if it will always look like that metronome.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

But his argument is flawed, in order to be in that limited range area by the Smog environment the Ship employing the laser has to be literally in a Chinese Smog bank. That means more or less being in Chinese Waters around the dense smog centers. It's a bit like arguing Infantry could never invade China as the Smog would render them to sick to fight. They have admitted that, It's logical but the chances of a US NAVY ship being in such a situation, is incredibly low. Unless the PLA plans on producing masses of Smog Banks around there Ships.

In the Ocean Environment The Navy has already taken that into consideration, they had to have they are mounting it in a navy ship and the US Navy was one of the first iron hulled navies, Rust and sea spray is nothing new.

My argument was NOT about being withing close proximity of the smog of a Chinese city, but point out that the Admiral says that a wet environment could hinder the effectiveness of the laser. Wet environment could come in many forms like weather and fog for instance. Yes the US the navy has a laser mounted on their ship, but it's only a test and in the beginning stage. And I've seen the video of that laser hitting that slow dummy drone and it took awhile in order to take it down when compare it to missiles or CIWS rounds.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

every environment has its issues. In the deserts it's dust and sand, In the Jungle it's moisture and humidity, over the sea it's moisture, in Cities it's reflections and buildings, the only environment that might have fewer issues is Space. but even there ypu have to consider lenses flexing in zero G
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

every environment has its issues. In the deserts it's dust and sand, In the Jungle it's moisture and humidity, over the sea it's moisture, in Cities it's reflections and buildings, the only environment that might have fewer issues is Space. but even there ypu have to consider lenses flexing in zero G

True, but a laser is light (photon particles) and anything or any other particle gets in it's way will no longer be 100%, as a result causes it to be less effective the longer it travels.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Re: Naval Laser CIWS and Rail Gun Technology and Development News

[video=youtube;qJQfAcBs5vQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qJQfAcBs5vQ[/video]
 
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