Defense technologyRailgun

Průdek Jaromír

Brno University of TechnologyFaculty of Mechanical Engineering

ContentsVocabularyCoilgunRailgun

- History- Principe- Today record of railgun- Weapon in Modern Warfare

VocabularyCoil - cívkaSusceptibility - vnímavostJamming - rušeníIndirect fire - nepřímá střelbaVulnerability - zranitelnost

Coilgun- invented by Kristian Olaf Birkeland (1867 –1917)

- using magnetic forces to accelerate projectile

- projectiles are ferromagnetic

History of Railgun- invented by Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee in 1918

- first plans to use railgun, was purposed by Germany's Ordnance Office in 1944

- first large-scale railgun build in 1970 by John P. Barber in Australian National University

- today biggest railgun located in Virginia, USA (at Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Dahlgren

Division Laboratory)

Railgun in Virginia

Principe of Railgun- using magnetic forces to accelerate projectile (Lorentz Force)

Today record of railgunSpeed of projectile: 3,2km/s

Weight of projectile:3,6 kg

Kinetic energy of projectile:33MJ

Weapon in Modern Warfare- first military railguns will be produced for next generation of

cruisers- projectiles using kinetic energy to destroy target- railgun will be powered by small nuclear reactor- range of railgun 2-3 times bigger than standard technologies

(Medium Range missiles) and 10 times bigger than naval cannons

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