Coming soon.....to a USN DD near you.

[Rich52]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/02/28/its-real-navy-test-fires-first-working-prototype-railgun/

[Grayeagle]

wow.

So .. next step .. scale it down to 2 mile accuracy, portable ..sniper weapon...
..then a BFG ..accurate to 1/2mile, rapid fire, for close combat against Zombies an such ..
..and then perhaps a pistol, accurate to 200ft, takes two D cells -ooo-

Yanno?

No Mo chemical explosives needed (unless you pack 'em into the bullet itself for HE rounds an such)

And you know if the Navy has it, the Army is gonna want it on a tank an such

-GE aka Frank

[VonMessa]

wow.

So .. next step .. scale it down to 2 mile accuracy, portable ..sniper weapon...
..then a BFG ..accurate to 1/2mile, rapid fire, for close combat against Zombies an such ..
..and then perhaps a pistol, accurate to 200ft, takes two D cells -ooo-

Yanno?

No Mo chemical explosives needed (unless you pack 'em into the bullet itself for HE rounds an such)

And you know if the Navy has it, the Army is gonna want it on a tank an such

-GE aka Frank

Hell, I want one on my Jeep for rush-hour traffic around here.

[Tac]

Saw that the other night. I couldn't help but think that this technology could very well be the end of missile technology and the age of the carrier.

Think about it. If its possible to launch a projectile at ridiculous speeds -and- we already can make projectiles 'smart' enough to fly themselves to a target and/or maneuver around things...

what's to stop them from doing that on a railgun round?

A frigate armed with this thing can outperform an aircraft carrier in ground support (10+ rounds a minute per gun, perfect accuracy with gps guided rounds..range 100+ miles) and could possibly be more effective than any anti-air weapon (again, 10+rounds a minute per gun self-guided) and dominate surface naval engagements. 

[Pigslilspaz]

We left the age of the battleship for the age of the carrier. Now we are
Going back to the age of the battleship (but a lot cooler)

[Rich52]

We left the age of the battleship for the age of the carrier. Now we are
Going back to the age of the battleship (but a lot cooler)

Well I wouldnt go that far. The USN CVs, in about the same time frame, will be able to launch long range hypersonic missiles from its stealth F-35s that will have a combat range of 600 nm "even more with ATA refueling". The missile system itself will deliver a 700lb class payload out to a range of 700+ nm at speeds approaching Mach 7. The missile will be fired from a variety of airplane, land, and shipboard systems. Like the railgun it will deliver its punch with kinetic energy.

When we get our stealth Hypersonic bomber no doubt this weapon will be one of those it will deliver. But a stealth strike fighter, with a range of 600 nm unrefueled, able to carry two 2,000 lb hypersonic missiles internally, tipped with 700 lb payloads that have an accuracy of a few meters and with a range exceeding 700 nm and speed in the mach 7 class?, means the USN CV isnt going anywheres for awhiles.

[Bodhi]

Kinetic energy weapons are going to be the poop when it comes to the battlefield.  Sub-orbital platforms may or may not already be available to deliver these weapons in the near future.  It is staggering to think about the changes in technology in the last 100 years.  We are becoming very very efficient killers.

[titanic3]

In the next 50 years, I expect:

Lasers (just like star wars)
Fully automated planes (full sized, and yes, they already exist, but not in enough numbers)
Hypersonic
Space weapons
Invisible/Cloaks (100 years maybe?)
Guided bullets
Non-lethal bullets
100MPH+ vehicles
Fully bullet proof uniforms

[MK-84]

Kinetic energy weapons are going to be the poop when it comes to the battlefield.  Sub-orbital platforms may or may not already be available to deliver these weapons in the near future.  It is staggering to think about the changes in technology in the last 100 years.  We are becoming very very efficient killers.

It currently although certainly possible would be WAY WAY WAY to expensive for an orbital delivery system to  replace anything.  However....

It looks like the US is looking to be able to project power anywhere in the world with as little delay as possible.

When it comes to orbital, yes sorta, the X-37 seems to be a technology demonstrator for just what you're talking about.  It has been shown to be able to adjust its orbit, which is a pretty big deal.  Imagine having a target of very high importance, but you arn't close enough, an orbital delivery system could do that.

A small Destroyer class with a railgun can project alot of force and "cheaply?" to land targets as well as sea and air, but is somewhat limited in range, however I would assume alot more than the 11 supercarriers we currently have.

And the carriers continue with their current role.

my take

[rpm]

In the next 50 years, I expect:

Lasers (just like star wars)
Fully automated planes (full sized, and yes, they already exist, but not in enough numbers)
Hypersonic
Space weapons
Invisible/Cloaks (100 years maybe?)
Guided bullets
Non-lethal bullets
100MPH+ vehicles
Fully bullet proof uniforms

Sharks with laser beams on their head.

[oakranger]

Well, we have the GPS guided artillery wonder if they can do it on this?

[titanic3]

I don't know what wars we're going to fight in the next few decades, but I sure am glad that I'm on the US side. 

[phatzo]

I'm surprised this technology has taken so long to surface, we had a small rail gun in our physics lab 30 years ago and it was imediately obvious that this thing was lethal.

[Tank-Ace]

First off, never going to replace aircraft and aircraft carriers. Aircraft have a longer range, loiter time over a target, faster delivery of orndnace when already over the target area, more versatility, etc.

Also the plane has a pilot, nothing can ever match that element of a weapon. I mean for all the impressivness of our technology, its still the human genius for war that created them, and guides them.


Titanic,

I don't really expect hand-held lazers any time soon. We still have yet to develop one thats both powerfull, has the ability to be fired multiple times in short period of time, and comes in a package that doesn't take up an entire transport aircraft.

Completly bullet-proof armor? What about your prediction of lazers? Come to that, a hyper-velocity bullet (like from a rail gun?) would still probably chew the hell out of an iron-man suit.



I'm just wondering if they're planning on adapting this for tank use. We already use kenetic energy penetrators, and we wouldn't need a 40lb penetrator if its flying that fast. I would imagine a 90-105mm projectile would do the job if its flying at 5,000mph. There would also be the benefit of removing all that high-explosives from the vehicle, as well as increased ammunition storage.

[titanic3]

Titanic,

I don't really expect hand-held lazers any time soon. We still have yet to develop one thats both powerfull, has the ability to be fired multiple times in short period of time, and comes in a package that doesn't take up an entire transport aircraft.
Not hand-held, but in planes and tanks. They already have lasers that does lethal damage, 50 years is plenty of time to scale it down to the size of a cannon.

Completly bullet-proof armor? What about your prediction of lazers? Come to that, a hyper-velocity bullet (like from a rail gun?) would still probably chew the hell out of an iron-man suit.
Not every country is going have to have the same tech as we do/will. Sure, a laser/rail gun would still tear the armor apart, but what country besides the US will have them by then? China? Doubt it. Russia? Nope. Any other country? Hell no.



I'm just wondering if they're planning on adapting this for tank use. We already use kenetic energy penetrators, and we wouldn't need a 40lb penetrator if its flying that fast. I would imagine a 90-105mm projectile would do the job if its flying at 5,000mph. There would also be the benefit of removing all that high-explosives from the vehicle, as well as increased ammunition storage.