An advanced electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) cannon prototype developed by General Atomics for the Navy is preparing for testing, according to the company.
The 10-megajoule medium-range multi-mission railgun system, one of two prototypes in development for the service, has completed final assembly and factory acceptance test, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) recently announced.
The system was designed to provide multi-domain capability on a smaller footprint for ship, land and mobile devices. It will be delivered to Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, according to a company press release.
Scott Forney, president of General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, previously told National Defense that the company intends to hit a stationary target by the fourth quarter of this year. By early 2018, it expects to hit a surrogate cruise missile currently in development by General Atomics, he added. Testing is expected to last about nine months.
In a related Naval Today article, http://navaltoday.com/2017/05/11/general-atomics-tests-hypersonic-railgun-projectiles, GA-EMS discusses testing of the hypersonic projectiles and notes, “With each new firing, we continue maturing the technologies and performing risk reduction toward a multi-mission railgun weapon system that supports future operation on land and at sea.”
Naval Today also noted that GA-EMS, “announced the development and completion of the High Energy Pulsed Power Container (HEPPC) which provides twice the energy density of existing pulsed power systems. The HEPPC is intended to reduce the footprint for pulsed power required to launch projectiles.”
Additional information on GA-EMS 3 MJ, 10 MJ and 32 MJ EMRG systems for mobile tactical, ship-board and land-based use can be found at, http://www.ga.com/missile-defense-systems.