The photo is illustrativeSpecialists of the Franco-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis received the first results of the program to create a railgun – an electromagnetic gun designed for installation on warships. This is reported by the publication Zone Militaire, which received information from the French Defense Procurement Agency.
As you know, the railgun is a tool that uses electromagnetic forces to disperse the projectile. At the first stage of the shot, the projectile moves between two contact rails, becoming part of an electrical circuit. However, in order for the gun to fire, a short-term high voltage supply is required, which is impossible in the case of a simple connection to the power grid.
The electromagnetic gun has a number of advantages, which include the absence of the need to store gunpowder on the ship, the low cost of shooting. However, the development of such tools seems to be quite a difficult task. For example, in 2017, the US Department of Defense closed the project of its own railgun, although $ 500 million had previously been invested in it.
Image source: topwar.ru
Research in the field of creating railguns continues in China. So, in February 2019, China tested a railgun, a projectile fired from which reached a speed of 2500 m /s. Then the European Defense Agency announced the development of its own railgun. The creation of a railgun was also interested in Japan.
The Franco-German Institute, in turn, has developed a 60 mm NGL-60 cannon, which can fire projectiles weighing about one kilogram, and a 25 mm RAFIRA (RApid FIre RAilgun) installation capable of firing small-caliber shells. A distinctive feature of the installation is a huge rate of fire compared to other guns.
In 2028, the Institute plans to test the railgun demonstrator to test the possibilities of its further installation on warships to ensure their anti-aircraft and anti-ship effectiveness.
