General Atomics completes railgun and powder gun testing contract
General Atomics worked closely with the Navy’s Dahlgren Division, using equipment like this railgun. (Photo: US Navy)
General Atomics has announced further success with the development of gun-launched projectile designs.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) with the US Army and Navy have completed a major test series to advance the state-of-the-art in gun-launched defensive projectile interceptor designs.
Identical projectile designs were fired from a railgun at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and a powder gun at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.
The projectiles reached record hypersonic velocities from the railgun launch and tested the projectiles’ guided flight capabilities from both gun systems.
General Atomics delivered the projectiles with integrated gun-hardened guidance electronics to test their capability to sustain data links and control trajectory while the projectiles undergo intense G-Forces at hypersonic speeds.
The projectiles were developed to contain guidance electronics and control actuation systems.
During the test, the projectiles were launched using the Navy’s 32-megajoule railgun system and a 120mm powder gun.
Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, commented that with these tests: ‘We have completed our contract to fabricate, deliver, and test prototype projectiles in railgun and powder gun environments’.
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