Speaking of domestic electromagnetic guns, it is not unfamiliar, it is simply very familiar. However, after a period of development, the electromagnetic cannon inexplicably faded out in the eyes of military fans, and it was said that the electromagnetic cannon encountered technical problems and was not suitable for modern naval warfare, so it turned into a technical reserve. However, the recent new progress of electromagnetic guns shows that domestic electromagnetic not only has not stopped, but also is constantly being developed and developed, and the current ammunition speed has reached Mach 5, entering the threshold of hypersonic weapons.
According to the South China Morning Post, China has made significant progress in electromagnetic guns, and the winged artillery shells developed by Lu Junyong's team have reached Mach 5 in tests and have reached a launch altitude of 15 kilometers. Then this report mentions three key information, the first is the winged artillery shell, which shows that the domestic electromagnetic cannon may be used, similar to the LRLAP shell fired by Zumwalt's advanced naval artillery system AGS, which probably looks like this.
The second is speed, the DF-17 is about Mach 8-Mach 10, and Mach 5 has already crossed the threshold of hypersonic speed. The third is the firing altitude of 15 km, which is to reach the height of the stratosphere, so that you can do "Qian Xuesen ballistics". You can think about it, if according to the frequency and cost of firing shells, you can hit the combat effectiveness of superb missiles, then the cheap hypersonic shells flying all over the sky, this picture is simply not too beautiful. And this can be regarded as a more outstanding progress made by domestic electromagnetic guns.
However, the report also mentioned that the current domestic electromagnetic gun has encountered a small problem. That is, the R&D team found that due to the high-speed rotation characteristics of the electromagnetic cannon after launch, it deviated from the intended flight path. At present, the team has identified the cause of the problem with the help of artificial intelligence, and by proposing a solution in the paper, it is estimated that the yaw problem will be solved soon.
In fact, this is not the first problem encountered in the development of electromagnetic weapons, after all, compared with traditional artillery, electromagnetic guns are a huge improvement from chemical energy to electromagnetic energy in the way of ability utilization, and it is impossible to be smooth sailing. For example, in the early days, the electromagnetic cannon first faced the problem of insufficient energy supply, and after the breakthrough of the ship's all-electric technology, it was solved to a certain extent. In addition, because the shell passes through the electromagnetic coil, its internal electronic navigation equipment cannot be used, resulting in precision strikes is also one of the problems of the electromagnetic gun. Now it may be through other means, such as inertial navigation, etc., as for the accuracy of how to solve it, it is not yet known. And this time the speed rotation problem should be another breakthrough.
After all, in the past few decades, the United States has engaged in many failed military projects, such as Zumwalt and littoral combat ships, and the United States has already made up its mind about electromagnetic guns, believing that this has potential. What is gratifying is that we have not only not given up on the research and development of electromagnetic guns after encountering difficulties, but are also overcoming difficulties step by step. Maybe in another 3-5 years, the domestic electromagnetic gun may be officially equipped, as for its positioning is similar to the AGS such as a ground long-range attack weapon, or can accurately strike the ship, we have to wait for more information in the future.
Generally speaking, the electromagnetic gun, as a huge change from a chemical weapon to an electromagnetic energy weapon, is also in line with the future development trend of "electric" weapons, but as a first-generation weapon, there will inevitably be one or another deficiency. This is like the first-generation breech rifles, the first-generation ironclad ships, and the first-generation battleships, in fact, they all have various shortcomings. However, if it is applied first, it can seize the development opportunity and enter maturity as soon as possible to obtain the advantage of generation difference. If it is said that the fifth-generation aircraft and 055 belong to the equipment of domestic equipment to catch up with the West, then the electromagnetic gun is likely to become the equipment that directly leads the West across generations.