A study published in the Journal of the Naval University of Engineering in China shows that a major breakthrough has been made in electromagnetic railgun technology, and this achievement is very eye-catching. As a kind of electromagnetic gun, the electromagnetic railgun is regarded as a high-speed kinetic energy with great development potential**. Many countries, including the United States, Japan and Russia, have conducted research to varying degrees in the field of electromagnetic railguns, and China has also made important progress. In short, electromagnetic railguns use electromagnetic field acceleration technology to achieve extremely high muzzle velocity of the projectile, so as to achieve precision targeting. Compared to traditional gunpowder launches, electromagnetic railguns have significant advantages in terms of lethality and range.
Its basic composition consists of two guide rails and an armature, on which the projectile is placed on the guide rail in front of the armature, through the action of a strong current, a magnetic field is formed between the guide rails, which generates a strong electromagnetic force, which drives the projectile. After firing, the acceleration of the projectile can reach hundreds of thousands of times the gravitational acceleration g, which is quite impressive. The concept of an electromagnetic railgun existed as early as World War II, when a German expert developed an electromagnetic gun capable of accelerating 10g of aluminum projectiles to 108km s.
Although by modern standards, this is not yet a railgun, because the current limit speed of the gunpowder projectile can also reach 18km s, but this is undoubtedly one of the earliest explorations in the field. As early as 1992, the United States has carried out a range test of an electromagnetic railgun with a caliber of 90mm and a kinetic energy of 9MJ. At that time, the US side believed that if the electromagnetic railgun could obtain stable performance, it would change the future combat direction of the US Navy, and this kind of missile would have a large enough deterrent effect on tanks, missiles, and fighters.
During one test, a projectile weighing 11kg was launched from orbit and penetrated 7 layers of steel plates, leaving a hole about 10cm in diameter, the power of which was evident. The power of the electromagnetic railgun is mainly derived from the kinetic energy formula EK MV2 2, which means that the faster the object speeds, the greater the kinetic energy. Kinetic energy plays a crucial role in an attack and is influenced by materials and other factors, but kinetic energy is undoubtedly the key factor. As the saying goes, "The world's martial arts, only fast is not broken". For example, a projectile launched from an electromagnetic orbital device at speeds of up to several kilometers per second is almost powerless to stop its impact.
The orbital length of the device is about 10m, which means that the projectile needs to pass a distance of 10m when launched. In this process, the acceleration of the projectile continues to increase. Unlike ordinary artillery, the projectile does not lose acceleration at the moment of discharge, which is one of the reasons why the electromagnetic gun is powerful. According to the US military's preliminary tests, the projectile can reach a speed of 7,200 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to six times the speed of sound. Assuming that this projectile is fired from Washington, it will reach Philadelphia in less than two minutes, which shows the adequacy of the electromagnetic railgun in terms of lethality, speed and range. The U.S. military has even invested billions of dollars in the research and development of electromagnetic railguns, which shows the importance it attaches to it.
The electromagnetic cannon has a wide range of application scenarios, in addition to being used to combat tanks and missiles, and more importantly, it can be used on ships. Compared to missiles, electromagnetic guns are smaller in size and can be equipped in large quantities on ships. Take a destroyer as an example, it can carry about 100 missiles, while a destroyer of the same size, an electromagnetic gun can carry about 1,000 projectiles, a difference of 10 times. Moreover, the cost of the electromagnetic gun is lower, taking the US military interceptor missile as an example, the cost is about 10 million US dollars, while the cost of a projectile of the electromagnetic rail gun is only tens of thousands of US dollars, which shows its advantages. However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages, and electromagnetic railguns are no exception.
Electromagnetic railguns face several key problems. First of all, it requires a lot of electrical energy and puts extremely high demands on the carrying platform, so it is difficult for ordinary ships to meet their needs. Firing a 10-round projectile, for example, requires a 25-megawatt power plant and a large capacitor bank. Such a power plant is enough to provide electricity for nearly 20,000 households. Secondly, the range of electromagnetic guns is limited, generally around a few hundred kilometers, and this distance is within the range of the opponent's anti-ship missiles, so it is difficult to actually apply them on ships.
In addition, the duration of fire is poor, and the rails of the electromagnetic gun installation are easily damaged, and it is often necessary to replace the tracks after 10-20 launch missions. The U.S. military once vigorously promoted electromagnetic railguns, but now such voices have weakened a lot. According to the US media "Defense News", the US military has abandoned the research and development of electromagnetic railguns, possibly due to insufficient funds. However, in addition to the problem of funding, the author believes that the US military must have faced some technical difficulties that could not be broken through and was forced to give up. In contrast, China's electromagnetic railgun is gaining momentum.
According to foreign media data, the range of the US electromagnetic cannon is about 180 kilometers, while the range of the Chinese electromagnetic cannon is about 270 kilometers, and the speed can reach 7Around Mach 5. Although the authenticity of these data is difficult to judge, it shows that China's electromagnetic guns have considerable potential. Some people may question whether it is necessary for China to continue to develop electromagnetic guns since the US military has given upHowever, the author believes that what the US military cannot develop does not mean that China cannot develop it, nor does it mean that it cannot play a role. In the event of a breakthrough in range, the electromagnetic cannon could replace anti-ship missiles.
It is inexpensive and suitable for long-term use, and our country has also carried out tests on ships, showing the progress and achievements made in technology. Lu Junyong's team has made a breakthrough in the field of electromagnetic guns and solved three core problems. Because the electromagnetic railgun launch system is extremely complex, involving huge components and complex electrical systems, how to ensure the high accuracy of the projectile when firing at high speed has become a key issue. The longevity of the orbit is also one of the challenges. Furthermore, due to the complexity of the system, fault detection and diagnostics are indispensable.
Lu Junyong's team has made a major breakthrough in the latest research, successfully achieving more than 1% reliable multi-burst precise control, and conducting real-time reliability monitoring of the system's 100,000 measurement points. Under high-precision conditions, they successfully carried out 120 consecutive emission tests, and the system was able to automatically diagnose 3 faults. The key to this breakthrough was that they overcame the problem of easy damage to the rails during multiple launches. It is worth mentioning that the U.S. military's electromagnetic railgun needs to be replaced when it is fired less than 20 times, and the latest breakthrough of Lu Junyong's team has increased the number of consecutive firing to 120, showing the strength of surpassing the U.S. military.
To sum up, there is no doubt that once the electromagnetic railgun technology matures in the future, it will surely become the PLA's winning weapon!