Blitzer™ Electromagnetic Railgun
Udate 12-07-2010 Press Release: Blitzer™ Successfully Completes Aerodynamic Projectiles Testing
General Atomics GA has been a leader in the development of railgun launcher and pulsed power technologies for many decades. In the 1980s, under Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO) contracts and other Department of Defense (DOD) programs, GA led or participated in the development of advanced rail gun barrels, projectiles, pulsed power supplies, switching and pulse forming networks (PFNs), and thermal management technologies. GA is bringing this past experience as well as other key technologies as it leads the development of several key systems within ONR’s Railgun INP Program.
With the advantages of hypervelocity launch at speeds in excess of seven times the speed of sound, EM Railgun provides game changing possibilities for both long range Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) of missions far inland (+200 nautical miles) and for ship defense. The advantages for NSFS include elimination of energetics (propellant and high explosives) because the terminal velocity provides sufficient lethality due to high kinetic energy, which translates to significant improvements in ship survivability and a much reduced logistics tail, elimination of unexploded ordnance, and the potential for reduced collateral damage due to the focused nature of energy release.
In the case of ship defense, the launch package can reach the horizon in seconds. This allows for engagement of threats much quicker and farther away than current systems, having the ability to replace multiple systems in the current layered defense approach, with the potential for reduction in the cost to defeat multiple threats by several orders of magnitude, and with a much deeper magazine than alternative approaches. More>>
Source: General Atomics
General Atomics (GA) is actively working to bring Advanced Electromagnetic Launch Technology to the US Department of Defense in several important areas. GA is currently supporting the development of advanced pulsed power, launcher, and projectile technology as part of the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Railgun Innovative Naval Prototype Program. In addition, GA is pursuing opportunities within the Navy to transition similar technology for Naval Ship Defense and for the development of “Cold Electromagnetic Missile Launch” technology. Many of these technologies are also relevant for application to other DOD and commercial missions.GA has been a leader in the development of railgun launcher and pulsed power technologies for many decades. In the 1980s, under Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO) contracts and other Department of Defense (DOD) programs, GA led or participated in the development of advanced rail gun barrels, projectiles, pulsed power supplies, switching and pulse forming networks (PFNs), and thermal management technologies. GA is bringing this past experience as well as other key technologies as it leads the development of several key systems within ONR’s Railgun INP Program.
