Land-Based Rail Gun (LBRG)
Abstract
Exisiting Navy Science and Technology (S&T) Railgun program will be leveraged into Land-based Railgun (LBRG) analysis, prototyping, and experimentation. Cost-effective land-based defense will be demonstrated by closing the fire control loop between existing sensors and prototype ground-launched Railgun projectiles. To facilitate this, LBRG will integrate the Railgun launcher, power, projectile, and sensor so that projectiles may be command guided during a series of flight tests. These tests will verify performance and lethality results from modeling and simulation. Testing will conclude by demonstrating projectile fly-out and control, sensor tracking of projectiles, communication from sensor to projectile, integrated guidance, navigation and control, culminating in an FY2015 live-fire, closed-loop, command-guided launch from a 20 mega-joule Railgun. This is a new PE for FY 2014 that contains OSD land-based Railgun investments to accelerate fire control loop closure. In FY 2011 and FY 2012, ramp investments were provided from alternate RDT&E PEs to enable the following accomplishments: • Initiated development of high fidelity models and simulations for gun launched guided projectile engagements. • Anchored projectile models with wind tunnel and flight test data in collaboration with the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR). • Analyzed several effective sensor architectures using existing sensors to support gun launched guided projectile engagements. • Selected sensors to support FY 2014 flight tests of prototype projectile airframes. • Conducted several projectile airframe flight tests in the first quarter—a quarter ahead of schedule—in collaboration with ONR. • Installed tracker hardware and successfully tracked a projectile flight with tactically relevant measurement accuracies in the first quarter in collaboration with ONR and the Army’s Armament Research Development and Engineering Center.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Source ID
- 5506b591d4dc8eaa5ee30103e0e0ef95