At the Euronavel exhibition in Valpante, Futura discovered a miniature version of a futuristic European railgun demonstration. Developed by the Franco-German Institute in St. Louis, this electromagnetic cannon can be mounted on the front of a national navy ship to act as an anti-missile defense.
At Euronaval, on the extensive stand of the Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, many advanced technologies are presented. Among them, Futura was able to see a European railgun project called Thema. Technology for Electromagnetic Artillery. Under a thick the windowthe windowA miniature model of a turret with a cannon at the bow of the ship is shot in a suicide drone image at a speed of 120 m/s 5 x 5 mm. Fires a projectile. Guaranteed effect for a scale model that looks like a toy. However, it is not as functional as the full-fledged Railgun prototype that is currently in development.
If this arms fair is not an easy place to talk to journalists, our interlocutor was kind enough to share some details of the future defense weapon planned to be equipped with a ship or ground vehicle.
Hypersonic projectiles
gave DemonstratorDemonstrator The electromagnetic gun is currently being developed by the Franco-German Research Institute of St. Louis (ISL). It should be able to fire its first projectile by 2025.The new generation LauncherLauncher), making it possible to fire projectiles of the order of a 60 mm caliber launcher. KilogramKilogramAlso Rafira Cannon (Rapid Fire Railgun). It can fire a high-velocity salvo of 25 mm caliber projectiles. The two projectile calibers are capable of reaching initial velocities, i.e. when exiting the muzzle of the gun, of between 2,000 m/s and 3,000 m/s respectively.
Demonstrators planning for 2028 will have to fire at 2,000 meters per second, or 7,200 kilometers per hour. Sufficient to increase strike range to over 200 km and ensure faster air defense thanks to reduced flight time. According to the ISL, lethality also increases due to higher speeds on impact. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to design an anti-missile defense based on firing a projectile bursting at 4,000 m/s, or 14,400 km! Hypersonics to get MissileMissilealso, hypersonic.
A simulated video of an anti-missile defense rail gun being used from a ship. Slow firing allows you to intercept multiple missiles. © ISL
Shot at 4,000 m/s
In all cases, ammunition is not explosive. These are arrows made of conductive material to guarantee the safety of the ship in the open sea. To work, an electromagnetic gun needs to energize two conductive rails with a high-speed current to create a magnetic field. The Laplace force does the rest by applying a large acceleration to the projectile. A power that allows him to shoot out of a cannon muzzle at hypersonic speeds! ISL explained to Futura that one of the main problems to be solved is material wear due to significant mechanical stress. The laboratory is working on this topic. Improvements have already been made, especially with regard to the projectile, which now has one. Form workForm work which releases the projectile as it exits the barrel.
Another innovation is the creation by ISL of a The generatorThe generator Named XRAM. Unlike normal generators that operate in series, this inductive pulsed power source operates in parallel. The generator is circular in shape and this process has two advantages: better compactness and, above all, the possibility to obtain the rest immediately.EnergyEnergy Don’t eat with one shot. As a result, this system improves speedspeed Fireballs.
France and its European partners are not the only ones. the floorthe floor The US was far ahead in this type of weaponry on railguns, but eventually halted its development to focus on hypersonic missiles and cannons. LaserLaser Or even an electromagnetic pulse. As Futura has previously reported, Japan is also developing this type of weapon and has tested it on a ship. Finally, China claims to have developed rail guns as well.
