Small boats, although it would be better to define them as floating power plants, equipped with long-range electromagnetic guns. The future of the United States Navy has fully embraced the new doctrine of the "Philosophy of Increased Lethality". The admiralty USA has already confirmed three ongoing projects (already financed) for the creation of a new war fleet that can fully reflect the concept of "kill everything".
It had been known for some time that these projects were in progress. That such technological demonstrators represented the future backbone of the US Navy's power was confirmed during the Surface Navy Association. The search for "greater lethality and the ability to destroy everything" was confirmed by the commander of the Expeditionary Strike Group Five, Admiral Peter Fanta.
I realize - said Fanta during the annual Surface Navy Association - that it is not nice to discuss certain things, but our work also involves eliminating our enemies, destroying their systems and winning on the field. There is nothing else that matters. Public opinion has always imagined that the maximum projection of the US Navy was the vision of a one hundred thousand ton aircraft carrier. This is correct for the present. In fifteen years, however, the US Navy could deploy dozens of electromagnetic guns off the coast of the enemy with devastating effects.
Electromagnetic gun technology is currently under development. It was designed to enter service with the class Zumwalt (in the video last month's sea trials), currently the only one capable of producing enough electricity (78 megawatts of power) for rail guns. By the 2020 the Pentagon should have succeeded in developing accumulators capable of storing sufficient energy and allowing the installation of Railgun also aboard the other navy warships.
The goal of the US Navy is to have a first batch of forty small units equipped with electromagnetic guns. We are not talking about real ships, but floating electric accumulators, a kind of surface electromagnetic artillery.
Although still in an experimental phase, electromagnetic guns (already tested in Virginia) represent the future. They shoot tungsten conductive bullets at a speed of 2,4 km per second. The target is hit with a kinetic power equal to seven times the speed of sound, for a power greater than a Tomahawk missile. The bullets tested to date by the US Navy have a weight of 3,2 kg. A devastating power at a much lower cost (about a thousand dollars) than a missile.
The electromagnetic cannon being developed by the US Army has already demonstrated its effectiveness with 2 kg tungsten projectiles, able to travel at 3 km per second and pierce the armor of any existing tank. Within the 2025, the Pentagon expects to develop electromagnetic guns capable of firing six rounds per minute with an average rod life estimated at three thousand full power shots.
(photo / video: US Navy)
