Electromagnetic Railgun : US Navy Hyper Velocity Projectile

Watch The US Navy's Hyper Velocity Projectile Rip Through These Plates


Tyler Rogoway for foxtrotalpha.jalopnik

The Office of Naval Research is getting ready to deploy their electromagnetic Railgun for testing for the first time next year. But what is a gun without ammo? The Hyper Velocity Projectile is being built for not the just the Railgun alone, but also for existing 5 inch deck guns as well. And yes, it is very, very fast.

The Hyper Velocity Projectile is basically a flying hypersonic spike and is launched in a similar fashion as the sabot rounds fired by Main Battle Tanks. The super low-drag spike of a projectile whizzes through the air at hyper-velocity speeds (around 5,600mph), hence its name. Oh yeah, and it is guided.

The HVP’s sleek design allows it travel much farther than tradition naval gun shells, from 30 to over 100 miles depending on what it’s fired out of. Because of its high speed, it can arrive on target very quickly. Using different programmed trajectories, a whole swarm of HVP’s can land simultaneously, literally turning an enemy’s silent night into a hell-storm in a blink of an eye.

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work examines the damage caused by a High Velocity Projectile 

The projectile will come in a few different flavors, including an air burst, a kinetic energy penetrator and high-explosive round. Because of its high-speed and miniaturized and hardened internal guidance, it could be used against surface and a ground targets, but it could also be employed against air threats, as well. Think of it as the ultimate version of skeet shooting, where each round costs as much as an exotic car.

Although guided artillery-type shells exist, and are very effective, speed is what makes the HVP so attractive. A whole slew of new possibilities, many of which make traditional missiles less relevant, especially for short and intermediate range engagements, exist when you factor an operational HVP capability into naval warfare scenarios.

If network connectivity is added to the HVP’s design, it could be guided in-flight with command updates coming from external sensors. This means it can hit moving vehicles using a remote sensor’s data, such as from an unmanned aircraft or a ship’s radar system. Under such a scenario, a HVP could be launched from 100 miles away, toward an enemy land mass, and a loitering unmanned aircraft tracking a vehicle could provide the projectile with terminal targeting information. The whole engagement would last about one minute.

It also means that the HVP could one day become more deadly than a surface-to-air missile, as its speed makes it almost impossible to defend against. Under such a concept, a Destroyer’s AEGIS combat system, including its powerful phased-array radars, can track an enemy fighter 20 miles away, and fire off a HVP with its existing 5-inch gun. The HVP will use mid-course updates from the ship’s radar sent to it via data-link. The whole engagement would last under 15 seconds, and the projectile’s speed would make it nearly impervious to evasive maneuvers.

Seeing as such a weapon would not need to carry its own propellant (or its own sensors, for that matter), it would mean that, although clearly not cheap, the HVP could replace some missiles at a comparatively cheap price. They could also allow for precious vertical launch cells aboard US Destroyers and Cruisers to be used only for long-range weaponry, such a cruise missiles and long-range interceptors. This also gives the Navy’s primary surface combatants many more shots to fire and a whole new mission of medium and long-range persistent fire support that currently does not exist. Even a ship’s Close-In Weapons Systems defending against cruise missiles and swarming boat attacks could be augmented by the HVP’s capabilities.

What’s also cool about the HVP is that it can be dumbed down just like it can be smarted up, by removing its Inertial Navigation System (INS/GPS) along with its data-link and control mechanisms, and filled with more high-explosives instead. Such a setup would be ideal for long-range ship-to-shore area suppression and attacks on large fixed targets. In other words, great for prepping the battlefield for the Marines before a beach landing.

Another enticing aspect of the HVP is that it could give foreign allied navies a huge leap in capability without having to really modify their existing vessels, as the munition is being built in a common 5-inch gun sized format. Although this only offers a fraction of the Railgun’s range, it still is much faster, longer-ranged, and more accurate than any 5-inch shell available today. Combined with an off-the-shelf radar system, the HVP could give ships that were designed for surface warfare and hunting submarines an area air-defense capability on the cheap.

The Railgun will be tested aboard the Navy’s Joint High-Speed Vessel USS Millinocket (JHSV-3) next year.

Finally, for future ships toting a Railgun, the HVP would be fired without any explosive propellant, making the ship a safer place and less prone to horrific secondary explosions caused by battle damage or accidents. It could also mean that someday, in the not-so-distant future, we might see the return of ships packing multiple big guns. The DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class, with its two 155mm guns is a start, but even a pocket “Electronic Battleship” could be a real possibility.

Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com

CHAMP : Powerful electromagnetic pulse weapon for destroy electronics systems

The silent missile that can destroy enemy electronics with microwave PULSES: Air Force confirms terrifying new weapon

• Named counter-electronics high-powered microwave advanced missile
• Weapon destroys electronic systems without hurting people or buildings
• Champ is now an 'operational system already in [the] tactical air force' 
• Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range has been chosen as the delivery vehicle

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail

 

From Ocean's Eleven to Star Trek, weapons that wipe out enemy electronics are a staple of science fiction films.

For years, scientists have been attempting to create such a weapon as part of Champ, or the Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile Project.

Now, the US Air Force claims it has advanced the technology, and says it can deploy it using the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM).

Counter-Electronics High-Power Advanced Microwave Project (CHAMP)

For years, scientists have been attempting to turn fantasy into reality by working on a system known as Champ, or Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile Project

 

 

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

The missile is equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon.

This uses a super-powerful microwave oven to generate a concentrated beam of energy.

The energy causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, rendering them useless before surge protectors have the chance to react.

The aim is to destroy an enemy's command, control, communication and computing, surveillance and intelligence capabilities without hurting people or infrastructure.

According to Foxtrot Alpha, once integrated into JASSM, Champ will be a 'first day of war' standoff weapon.

Because it can be launched by both bombers and fighters, Lockheed's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, is an ideal platform for Champ. 

'The capability is real … and the technology can be available today,' said Major General Thomas Masiello, the Air Force Research Laboratory.

'That's an operational system already in our tactical air force'

In 2012, aircraft manufacturer Boeing successfully tested the weapon on a one-hour flight during which it knocked out the computers of an entire military compound.

During Boeing's experiment, the missile flew low over the Utah Test and Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to seven targets, permanently shutting down their electronics.

Boeing said that the test was so successful even the camera recording it was disabled.

Although the project is shrouded in secrecy, experts believe the missile is equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon.

This uses a super-powerful microwave oven to generate a concentrated beam of energy which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, rendering them useless before surge protectors have the chance to react.

Boeing's CHAMP takes out enemy electronics with pulse

   

The missile is equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon. This uses a super-powerful microwave oven to generate a concentrated beam of energy. The energy causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, rendering them useless before surge protectors have the chance to react

Keith Coleman, Champ programme manager for Boeing's prototype arm Phantom Works, claims the technology marked 'a new era in modern warfare'.

'In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive,' he said during the initial test.

However, experts fear that the project could create an arms race, with countries scrambling to build their own electromagnetic pulse weapons.

Professor Trevor Taylor, Professorial Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, has previously said the Western world would be more vulnerable attack because of its increased reliance on electronics.

'Should the US be known to have developed such a technology to the production stage, it would drive others to try to act similarly,' he said.

 

The US Air Force claims Champ has found an ideal delivery vehicle; the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (pictured)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory maps the areas likely to be blacked out in the event of a high-altitude nuclear EMP attack on the US

Russian T-14 Armata MBT close up

Kaplan-20 ACV new generation tracked armoured fighting vehicle FNSS





Ripsaw EV 2 Ground Vehicle Testing

Divine Eagle : High-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV

 




Divine Eagle


This large high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV has been under development at 601 Institute/SAC as an "anti-stealth" AEW platform.
The UAV features a novel twin fuselage/twin vertical tailfin design with the straight main wing extending across the rear fuselage. It also has a small wing structure connecting the forward sections of twin fuselages. A SATCOM antenna is expected to be installed inside one of the head bulges.
The UAV is thought to be powered by a turbofan engine (WS-11?) located above the main wing and between the two vertical tainfins. As an AEW platform Divine Eagle is expected to have multiple conformal radar antennas installed on the forward fuselages facing different directions.
The VHF meter wave radar is capable of detecting stealth aircraft at a relatively long range but suffers from a lower accuracy. Therefore several Divine Eagles may typically fly in a group formation ahead while bei
ng controlled via datalink by the AWACS flying behind in a safe distance or by the ground station protected by the air defense unit. Together they act as an airborne multistatic radar system and are able to pick up the radar reflection signals of the same stealth aircraft from multiple directions.
As the result the UAV can extend both the detecting range and accuracy of the AWACS against stealth aircraft. The design of Divine Eagle appear to share some similarity with the Russian Sukhoi S-62 concept which first appeared around 2000. It was reported that Russian assistance was sought during the initial development stage.
A technology demonstrator was built by the spring 2015. Some specifications (estimated): height 6m, length 14m, wingspan 35m, endurance >10hr, ceiling 18km.
If successfully entering the service, Divine Eagle would become the first airborne anti-stealth radar system in the world and could be used to counter American F-22s, F-35s and B-2s.




Divine Eagle. Enormous Stealth Hunting Drone, Takes Shape

By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer | Popular Science

While the Divine Eagle reportedly first flew in February 2015, filtered photos of the UAV have only now emerged on the Chinese Internet (filtering photos to blur visual details is one way Chinese Internet denizens avoid censorship). The timing is notable. Coming shorty after the release of the first Chinese defense White Paper calling for Chinese military expeditionary capabilities and high profile Sino-Russian naval exercises, the Divine Eagle is a visual announcement that China's building unique technologies that could change the brewing arms race in the Asia Pacific.

Real Deal

Milint via cjdby.net

Compared to original design concepts, the Divine Eagle prototype has less stealthy features, such as conventional vertical stabilizers (upright tailfins), and an unshielded engine intake located in between the tailfins.

The details on the photo confirm that the Divine Eagle is a single engine, twin bodied aircraft with two large vertical stabilizers (tails). Compared to the initial concept art and drawings available in February, the latest Divine Eagle iteration is less stealthy, having two satellite communications domes, completely vertical tails and an exposed engine intake. Determining the Divine Eagle's size is difficult, but assuming that the fuselage has a diameter of 1.2-1.5 meters (large enough to accommodate stealth detecting X-band radars), the photo suggests a fuselage height to length ratio of 1:12, giving a probable length of 14.4 meters to 18 meters. Gauging the wingspan is more difficult, but it may likely be 40-50 meters in width.

360 Radars

Hongjian and henri K

The 7 radars include a X/UHF AMTI Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar on the front, two X/UHF AMTI/SAR/GMTI AESA radars on the twin booms, two X/UHF AMTI AESA radars on either side of the engine nozzles, and two more radars on the end of the booms. AMTI and GMTI radars are used for tracking air and surface targets, respectively, while SAR is used to provide detailed imagines of ground targets like bases and infrastructure.

The Divine Eagle is planned to carry multiple Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, of the AMTI, SAR and GMTI varities. Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI) radar types are used to track airborne targets, like enemy fighters and cruise missiles. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) provides high resolution of slow moving ground vehicles and enemy bases. Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) radars are ideal for identifying and tracking ships, such as aircraft carriers. X/UHF band radars, which include the "F-22 killer" JY-26 that debuted at Zhuhai 2014, have raised concerns in the American military that they could track stealth aircraft like the F-35 fighter and B-2 bomber at long ranges.

Divine Eagle Hunts

Hongjian via China Defense Forum

The offensive applications of the Divine Eagle are demonstrated here, as two Divine Eagles mark out not just the enemy aircraft carrier, but also its escorting warships and aviation wing, while vectoring friendly aircraft and ships into combat. One presumes that the Divine Eagle would also be able to find targets for the infamous DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile.

As a High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) UAV, the Divine Eagle would prove incredibly useful in both offensive and defensive operations. Its long range anti-stealth capabilities can be used against both aircraft, like the B-2 bomber, and warships such as the DDG-1000 destroyer. Using the Divine Eagle as a picket, the Chinese air force could quickly intercept stealthy enemy aircraft, missiles and ships well before they come in range of the Mainland. Flying high, the Divine Eagle could also detect anti-ship missile trucks and air defenses on land, in preparation for offensive Chinese action.

JY-26 Radar

Sina Defense

The JY-26 "Skywatch" AESA Radar, operates in the long wave band to detect stealth aircraft, which are often optimized against detection by shorter wavelenghts. The JY-26 is claimed to have a range of 500km and Chinese media claimed it detected F-22 Raptor fighters off the South Korean coast in mid 2014. The Divine Eagle is likely to have similar radar technology to detect stealth bomber and fighters at long range.

The Divine Eagle is part of a larger Chinese trend in building high technology, unique systems that respond to US plans for Air Sea Battle and "Offsets. They extend the reach of the PLA and meet the needs of the PLA to both break through the anti-access response plans of opponents, while also defending against hostile power projection. As a recent article by one of our team notes, as these capabilities become real, they could undercut key assumptions behind the entire US strategy of deference in the Pacific

 

PLA-AF Golden Helmet competition training

Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER - First Flight

Ka-52 and Mi-28N fly over Moscow

Type 218SG submarines

IMDEX Asia 2015.

At this year's IMDEX Asia exhibition, TKMS Germany provided some technical details of new conventional submarines Type 218SG for Singapore Navy.
Type 218SG will have a length of 70 meters and a width of 6.3 meters. Displacement at the surface will be 2,000 tons, a total of 28 officers and sailors needed. Estimated speed and range are still unknown.

The unit will be designed to carry heavy torpedoes and fired cruise missiles. Torpedo tubes will also be used for landing troops and deep sea submersible vehicles for special forces.

Type 218SG will have eight 533-mm torpedo tubes, equipped with AIP and used X-shaped tail rudder. The contract value is estimated exceed 1 billion euros.

The units can also be used for the observation and analysis of the marine environment, detection and removal of sea mines, conduct reconnaissance and support activities carried out by the army in the coastal region.

The first Type 218SG submarine will be completed in 2020. To enter service two years later, after passing through the sea acceptance tests and final test, as well as the completion of the training program for the crew. Both units should be in line 2025.




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Gen. McChrystal Says The U.S. Is Facing A 'Huge Threat'