General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems has announced its readiness to test its new development Multimission Medium Range Railgun Weapon System (MMRRWS, multi-purpose electromagnetic medium-range weapon), according to the portal defenseworld.net.
According to the press service of the company, the tests of the 10 mJ cannon will take place at the Daguey Proving Ground military training ground (Utah). The exact date of testing, as well as their methodology, the developers have not yet indicated. Testing will be a fully functional prototype railgun equipped with brand new capacitors that provide more capacity in a smaller size than the previously unveiled Blitzer. It is known that MMRRWS will be tested complete with a turntable, which will fully test the accuracy of the gun, reports "Warspot".
The MMRRWS gun is designed for firing blanks and high-explosive air blast projectiles from distances up to 100 km. In this case, the initial speed of the projectiles will be over 6,000 km / h. Earlier this year, General Atomics has already tested smart ammunition for the MMRRWS, stating that the projectiles maintain a stable two-way communication with the weapon, which allows them to adjust their flight.
The key feature of MMRRWS is the ability to use hypersonic guided high-explosive air blast projectiles. With the help of such ammunition, ships will be able to intercept enemy missiles, as well as strike enemy aircraft. General Atomics calls guided projectiles for electromagnetic weapons "shot" (by analogy with cartridges for smooth-bore guns), since each of them contains many tungsten balls. In addition, the guns will be able to hit ground and surface targets with kinetic strikes.
Representatives of General Atomics indicate that the development of MMRRWS is carried out at the expense of the company, and since 2007, about $ 50 million has been invested in the new weapon. The developers hope that the weapon system, which is planned to be completed next year, will interest the US Navy. According to the technical description, MMRRWS will be able to replace or supplement the standard 127 mm Mark artillery mounts, as well as anti-missile systems. In addition to the better declared characteristics than that of traditional artillery systems, electromagnetic weapons should help the US Navy to reduce costs - according to a General Atomics spokesman, “one interceptor missile can cost several million dollars, while a“shot”round for a railgun is $ 25,000-50 000.