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Once again proving the US's dominance in fast food and military hardware, a new bit of artillery even the Tau would envy

http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/102006/10182006/229994/index_html?page=1

Rail gun artillery guided by satellite.  Thats the bomb baby!

(literally).

Sweet.

The navy has been using "rail gun" technology for years in their aircraft catapaults (which used to be steam driven). It was only a matter of time before that tech would be used in this manner. I can't help but wonder how much their GPS-guided, fin stabilised ammunition costs per round...

Nothing exact, but on page 2:

"A Navy document brags that the weapon will be cheaper than current guns, offering "missile ranges at bullet prices.""

 

I imagine the true cost will be in driving the 64 mega joule pulse generator, although on a Nuclear ship this should not be such a problem.

However much it costs, it'll be cheaper per kill than traditional artillery, which has to throw up so much ordnance to saturate an area to ensure a kill. 1 shell at $1000 each is cheaper than 5 shells at $250 each, especially when the 1k shell is always on target and its cheaper cousins aren't even sure to hit the target area.

Furious - The US navy is still using steam driven catapalts. They are looking into linear motor catapalts, similar to the ones used on the new high speed roller coasters, for both accelleration and braking.

jfrazell- the shells shot by the 'new" rail gun are solid and not gps/laser guided. The navy has been looking into putting guidence on 16 in shells but the accelleration at firing is to great and damages the electronis. The acceleration is even greater on a rail gun shell and I cannot imagine the electronics surviving any better. Also, these look like solid shot verses HE shells. so they may be great at taking out a target but not area suppression which is one of the things modern artillery is used for.

lord sutekh - provided the guns are laid correctly, a task made much simpler with modern gps and electronics, traditional artillery is extremely accurate. and as I mentioned earlier, Artillery is used for area suppression, to deny the enemy the ability to manuever and allow friendly troops to manuever. You are normally not using artillery to take out a single target with a single shot.

As stated in the article the military has been looking into this technology for a long time so this is really not all that new.

I will agree it is an interesting concept, in its current configuration it could only be used on larger Naval ships capable of generating significant amounts of electrical engery.

The article notes the likelihood of GPS for guidance:

 

"It's expected to be capable of firing up to 12 rounds a minute. Projectiles are likely to have fins so that the global positioning system can be used for guidance."

Of course, it would be interesting to see if they could make it smaller, not bigger.

Why do all the mini gamers love big guns?

Chuck

Posted By chuckyhol on 10/20/2006 5:42 PM
Why do all the mini gamers love big guns?

Chuck

Because that's all that stands between us and and the jocks/bullies/tyrannical government.

Posted By bigchris1313 on 10/20/2006 7:02 PM
Because that's all that stands between us and and the jocks/bullies/tyrannical government.

I REALLY hope you don't mean that.

He's as serious as a 20-something in the US and A can be, which in the case of that grocery store dude that wanted to blow up football, is pretty ding-dang serious.

Seriously.

Jester- I love you.

thelosttau - You sir, are correct. I read about this years ago. I didn't realize the first few carriers featuring this technology should be launched in the next two to seven years. If anyone is interested, do a Google search on "EMALS" or ElectroMagnetic Aircraft Launch System.

Posted By Drake_Marcus on 10/20/2006 9:08 PM
Jester- I love you.

Hey, right back at ya, buddy.

bigchris is not a jock?

He says he went to Claremont-Mckenna for the "chicks", he always talks about lifting weights, he's in the choir, for gods sake!

I don't think I want to know what he is if not a jock, Felix.

No, I don't think that I need to overthrow the government.

And Jester, what's with you dropping all the details about my personal life? Making sure to mention choir and forget football, eh?

And I am definitely not a jock.  I'm a bad athlete.  I'm just a really big nerd, literally.

And when did I say that my college decision had anything to do with chicks?

when you stopped hitting on me to have Ed's manbabies. he didnt give out, so you gave up on the manly men and went for the grrrrlz.

Choir rocked.

Chris rocks the choir.

Posted By bigchris1313 on 10/21/2006 7:54 PM
No, I don't think that I need to overthrow the government.

And Jester, what's with you dropping all the details about my personal life? Making sure to mention choir and forget football, eh?

And I am definitely not a jock.  I'm a bad athlete.  I'm just a really big nerd, literally.

And when did I say that my college decision had anything to do with chicks?

Lemme deconstruct the post.  You're smarter than this.

First, my saying that you went to Claremont-McKenna for the chicks was intended to be funny, as most intelligent people know that you have never scored with a chick.  You haven't even gotten a walk-on single.

Second, my saying that you always lifted weights is an aspersion toward your sexual orientation, as the reference to your participation in the choir was re: your gender identity.  This drunken wavering toward the low-brow was probably too trite for someone of my awesome Internet prowess, but I stand by it.  Cheap laughs is still laughs, as the poet once said.

Third, I decided not to go for the easiest option of you being a football player, because as many people have no doubt already realized, Claremont-McKenna hasn't had a football team ever since the coach got snockered at the last Madrigal and started groping that dude that invented Oxiclean.

In closing, it was a joke.

Nerd flame war!

I'm not worthy

BigChris should know that there ain't nothing but love from this end.

Flaming love.

The flamingest.

We can always count on the Americans on spending as much money per year on weapons as the rest of the world altogether, and every once in a while their president has to manufacture a war with a punchbag country in order to keep the business running.

Why do I have the feeling that we will be the nasty alien race that conquers space with their superior weapons and anhilates whole planets.

Symbio, I'm ashamed. You haven't read your Imperial History Books!

CK

We have to survive our own planet, first.