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The Office of Naval Research-founded electromagnetic railgun, which is installed aboard the joint high-speed vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3), shown by an artist rendering.
A long range weapon, railgun, can launch projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants and is under testing at Naval Sea Systems Command, Dahlgren Division.
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Monday, April 07, 2014
The Navy's Mach 7 Rail Gun...
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What an odd choice for a test bed.
ReplyDeleteStable platform, lot's of place for additional equipment and large deck for weapon... pretty logic choice.
DeleteA low draught multi-hull constructed from aluminum a stable platform, really?
DeleteYou don't know too much about shipbuilding, do you ? Yes the catamarans and trimarans are very stable platforms, for more simple words... if you are not stable platform you can't ride the sea with standard 35 knots speed.
DeleteI think the 200 books on the subject and extensive voyage milage in this particular vomit comet,
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSC_Manannan
would suggest I know an awful bit more than you think you do.
That would suggest that, but your doubts about stability of catamarans and trimarans say otherwise. Couple of navy's and civilian operators use catamaran hull ships as research units mainly because it's superior stability over single hull type ships.
DeleteThey used to operate cats on the across the English channel - some day it was great fast smooth ride, other times a vomit comet - it all depends on the frequency of the waves and their angle to the direction of travel.
DeleteFor example, waves coming head on are ok, just like a mono hull, but side on causes more rocking than a mono hull particularly when one hull is in a trough and the other is on the peek of the wave.
On a mono hull, you can also stabilize roll more easily. Also, research cats tend to be SWATH designs.
Given it's a test bed, it'll have more flexibility to choose when to go to sea and in which direction to travel. I guess also as it's a cheap ship with lots of space might have something to do with it.
I think the RORO area was needed to house the containerized power equipment.
ReplyDeleteNot on a $2B, $3B, $6B or $10B platform? Can't be good for the gold-plated-warship-requirement cabal inside the US Navy.
ReplyDeleteIt is only a test platform.
DeleteWhether this setup works or not, PRoC intelligence will want to get the schematics of this rail gun (if they don't have it already).
ReplyDeleteImagine if you can have a guided projectile (like the Copperhead but only BIGGER). Would give US carriers a bad day.
I wonder what is with the odd pyramid type turret? Then again the lower part be under the deck on an actual warship.
ReplyDeletei wondered about that too. naval stealth?
DeleteProbably just o give an impression of stealthiness, this is more likely to just be an artistic mockup for the press release. However I would expect the base on the real deal to have a similar load spreading structure to spread as much of the recoil over the structural members of the helo deck.
Deleteon a more general note i like the JHSV and wondered why they havent tried to modify it a bit more to turn it into more of a multirole like the LCS is. couldnt you fit some radars on it and VLS cells to help with anti-air warfare or anti-ship missiles? it has the legs to keep up with the fleet, helping as screening vessels. also i know they can do transport but also can do medical with the spacing, also it can hold a helo so give it a towed sonar or fit something on the bottom of the hulls to do anti-sub warfare to take the mission our retiring frigates are leaving behind unfilled, it to me is much more of a modular ship than the LCS and i think could easily accomodate some weapons packages.
ReplyDeleteheres one news story about it:
ReplyDeletehttp://breakingdefense.com/2014/04/navys-magnetic-super-gun-to-make-mach-7-shots-at-sea-in-2016-adm-greenert/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htszh_6Sl1s
ReplyDeleteHere is a video of the rail-gun being tested.