With the development of the times, the military ** has gradually developed in the direction of science and technology, and the electromagnetic guns that used to only appear in science fiction movies have now been realized in reality.
In October 2023, the Japanese Defense Equipment Agency announced on the Internet that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces test-fired the most **electromagnetic gun**.
* The electromagnetic cannon used by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is a medium-caliber electromagnetic railgun that has never been successfully developed in the world before. And according to the Japanese Defense Agency, this latest electromagnetic gun has a rate of fire of up to 2230 meters per second and can achieve 120 bursts.
Judging from the official news released by Japan, this latest electromagnetic cannon can be described as the world's first level.
However, what is puzzling is that the development of electromagnetic guns in Japan has been tepid before, but now it has suddenly made a breakthrough.
At the same time, the Chinese people are also worried that in the face of Japan's latest electromagnetic cannon, does my country have a way to counteract?
In fact, the reason why the Chinese people are worried about Japan's successful test launch of the most advanced electromagnetic cannon is entirely because of the huge power of the electromagnetic cannon and its important significance to modern warfare.
Since entering the era of hot **, human beings have tried their best to develop new types of ** and are obsessed with the update and iteration of **.
The electromagnetic cannon is a futuristic concept **, which first appeared in science fiction movies, which is different from the traditional **, does not use gunpowder as ammunition, but kills the enemy through a powerful electromagnetic current.
It is precisely because of this characteristic that it is different from the traditional thermal ** that the electromagnetic cannon has triggered the reverie of countries all over the world about it, and they can't wait to "move" it to reality.
As the name suggests, an electromagnetic cannon is a ** system that uses the power of electromagnetic fields to fire artillery shells. It works on the basis of Lorentz's law of force and accelerates and fires shells by harnessing a strong electromagnetic force.
From a scientific point of view, an electromagnetic gun uses electrical energy to inject an electric current into the conductor orbit in the launch cavity to form a strong magnetic field.
When an electric current passes through a conductor, a magnetic field is created that surrounds the conductor, and the projectile moving in the magnetic field will be accelerated by the action of the Lorentz force. Eventually, the electromagnetic cannon will fire the shells at high speeds.
In fact, from the principle of launching, the gap between electromagnetic guns and traditional artillery is not large, but in terms of power source, traditional artillery uses the power generated by gunpowder combustion to launch shells, while electromagnetic guns use the force generated by the interaction between electricity and magnetic fields to "push" the shells.
However, it is this small difference that makes the electromagnetic cannon far superior to traditional artillery in terms of performance and role in war.
Compared to conventional artillery, electromagnetic guns are capable of firing shells at high speeds, and some can even reach speeds exceeding Mach levels.
This is because traditional artillery relies on the gas pressure generated by the combustion of gunpowder to drive the projectile, while the electromagnetic gun uses electromagnetic force to accelerate the projectile, which is not limited by the speed of gunpowder burning, and can achieve higher speed and range.
In addition, with the help of advanced fire control systems and accurate ballistic calculations, the electromagnetic gun is also capable of achieving highly accurate shooting.
Compared with traditional artillery, electromagnetic guns do not have gas disturbances and firing deviations caused by gunpowder combustion during firing. The advantage of high accuracy allows the electromagnetic gun to effectively hit enemy targets and reduce the risk of accidental damage.
In addition to this, since the electromagnetic gun is not limited by the rate at which gunpowder burns, it is capable of firing quickly and continuously.
Compared with traditional artillery, the electromagnetic gun does not require a cooling time, and does not need to replace the barrel or ammunition, and can continuously carry out high-speed fire, which improves the efficiency of fire output and combat response.
Because of these excellent characteristics, electromagnetic guns have become the "new favorite" in modern warfare. Today's electromagnetic guns are widely used in anti-ship and anti-missile, ground strikes, and sea threats, and have profoundly influenced the development of modern warfare.
Since the electromagnetic cannon is so "powerful", what is the current situation of Japan's development in the field of electromagnetic guns? Is it really the number one in the world, as they themselves say?
As a country founded on science and technology, Japan has gradually realized the importance of electromagnetic guns for future wars as early as the 80s of the last century.
Therefore, from that time on, Japan began to set up special funds to vigorously develop the research and development of electromagnetic guns, and took the lead in making a breakthrough, successfully using a plasma armature to launch an ultra-high-speed projectile, and the rate of fire was 745 kilometers per second leads the world.
In 1996, Japan's National Aerospace Exploration Agency launched an R&D program called HAGANE to develop electromagnetic technology and achieve practical applications.
The goal of the Hagane program is to develop an electromagnetic** that can be equipped on spacecraft for use in ground attack and space operations.
With the support of the Hagane program, Japan successfully conducted tests of the Hagane-1 project in 2005, achieving the first launch of the aerospace electromagnetic ** system.
Hagane-1 is a small electromagnetic** system equipped on an experimental spacecraft for ground attack testing. According to the data, the rate of fire of the Hagane-1 can reach several kilometers per second, with high hit accuracy and striking capabilities.
After that, Japan continued to promote the research and development of electromagnetic projects, and through the Rail Lab project, the electromagnetic technology of maglev trains was improved, and it was applied to the research and development of electromagnetic guns, which increased the stability of electromagnetic gun launches.
However, despite its remarkable achievements in theoretical research, due to various reasons, it was not until 2016 that Japan really put theory into practice and successfully developed a 16mm electromagnetic railgun.
In the six years from 2010 to 2016, Japan invested as much as 8.64 million US dollars in the research of electromagnetic guns, which can be described as a bloody investment。In addition, Japan is actively cooperating with the United States in research and development in the field of electromagnetic guns.
In January 2022, Japan and the United States reached a five-year cooperation agreement. With the technical support of the United States, Japan soon developed a medium railgun with a thickness of 40 mm, and reached the world's leading level in terms of rate of fire and the number of shells fired.
The electromagnetic cannon test-fired by the Japanese Ministry of Defense this time is precisely this railgun, which is known as "the world's first." In the ** picture, this electromagnetic cannon shoots multiple shells in a row between the electric light and flint, accurately destroying the target, and the power is very powerful.
Because of this, after reading the ** of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the Chinese people can't help but worry in their hearts:In the face of Japan's so-called "world's first" electromagnetic cannon, does my country have a way to counteract?
In fact, there is no need to worry too much about this problem. Because in the research and development of electromagnetic guns, China is far ahead of Japan, and even compared with the United States.
As early as 2006, a huge breakthrough has been made in the research and development of electromagnetic guns in China, and the development of electromagnetic railguns has been basically realized.
In 2018, on China's 072 landing ship 936 "Ocean Mountain", a shipborne electromagnetic gun appeared for the first time, which is an innovative achievement in the field of electromagnetic gun research in the world.
Although for confidentiality reasons, we cannot know the specific achievements of China's latest generation of electromagnetic gun research and development, but from the speculation of foreign media on China's electromagnetic gun data, we can see how rapid the development of China's electromagnetic gun is.
According to the inference of foreign media, today's electromagnetic cannon in our country,It has been possible to accelerate a 25kg shell to 2575 meters per second without pressure, and give it a range of more than 250 kilometers, and even penetrate eight centimeters of steel plate at a distance of 100 kilometers.
Compared with the so-called "world's first" medium-sized railgun with a thickness of 40 mm in Japan's mouth, it is simply a "small thing" compared with China's electromagnetic gun.
However, even if China's electromagnetic cannon is significantly ahead of Japan, it cannot be taken lightly. According to the information released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Japan will invest an average of at least $60 million per year in the development of electromagnetic guns in the future, and it will be put into practical use in 2029.
In this regard, we also need to remain vigilant at all times and constantly expand our advantages in the field of electromagnetic guns, so as to be able to calmly respond to various challenges from the outside world.