Speed kills! US Navy targets hypersonic, GPS-guided bullets (PHOTOS)

*Source: RT

Particle debris ignites as a test slug exits the Office of Naval Research (ONR) 32 MJ (megajoules) Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) laboratory launcher (AFP Photo / US Navy / John F. Williams)

Remember the old cartoons where a bullet could chase you around a corner? What if that bullet was fired at 5,600 mph from an Electromagnetic Rail Gun? If the US Navy has its way, these sci-fi,supersonic GPS-guided projectiles could soon be a reality.

The futuristic munitions come as part of the US Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Hyper Velocity Projectile program, which was announced on July 19. The agency's researchers hope to develop equipment that would allow high-velocity weapons to accurately strike far-away targets – without having to depend on rocket propulsion, Military and Aerospace Electronics reports.

The Navy hopes the supersonic ammunition, with a potential “in-flight retargeting” capability, will be compatible with both its conventional guns, like the Mk 45 155-millimeter gun systems, as well as its experimental 20–32MJ railgun systems, which fire projectiles using electrical energy instead of chemical propellants.

The bullets are slated to be two feet long, weigh somewhere between 20 and 30 pounds, and have a range of 30 to even 200 miles depending on the system deploying them.

In order to bring this project to life, the Navy “will explore technologies related to extended-range guided projectiles for Naval Surface Fire Support and exploit recent advances in miniaturized electronics, guided projectiles and mortars, and warhead technology for small UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] launched munitions.”

The hi-tech munitions fit in with what Former Navy chief Adm. Gary Roughead described last year as the drive to end "the dominance of the missile,” Wired reports.

Once China’s DF-21D – the world’s first anti-ship ballistic missile – reached initial operational capability in 2010, the US has been scrambling to neutralize technology that could sink multi-billion dollar US carriers in the Pacific.

As the Navy works to circumvent China’s developing “carrier-killer” deterrent, it says the high-velocity projectiles will not need rocket motors, a change that would cut down on both collateral damage and munitions costs.

Although the ONR plans “a multi-stage program leading to full-up live-fire demonstrations of the technology” by the end of 2017, the Navy’s track record with such high-tech projects is less than stellar.

The Navy has already poured $240 million into its railgun project since 2005, but practical versions won’t be ready until 2017, and it might be years more before they are operational on the water.

So while the railguns and their GPS-guided bullets will fire at more than seven times the speed of sound, development of the game-changing technology necessary will likely crawl along at a snail’s pace.

A test slug impacts the target after being fired from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) 32 MJ (megajoule) Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) laboratory launcher (AFP Photo / US Navy / John F. Williams)

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High-speed camera image of the Office of Naval Research's Electromagnetic Railgun located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, firing a world-record setting 33 mega-joule shot (AFP Photo / US Navy / John F. Williams)

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U.S. Army Develops Tesla-Style Lightning Bolt That Destroys “Enemy” Vehicles

*Source: Exalted Truth

© US Army

Quick fire! A guided lightning bolt travels horizontally, then hits a car when it finds the lower resistance path to ground

The United States Army’s team of scientists are busy at work developing a device that will shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to destroy its target.
And they are doing it with gusto – announcing their work with a hearty: ‘Soldiers and science fiction fans, you’re welcome.’
The Laser-Induced Plasma Channel, or LIPC, is designed to take out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.
And the research is a lot of work, but as George Fischer, lead scientist on the project, said: ‘We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our (simulated) targets.’
The idea is for a laser beam to be sent in the direction of the target.
When it approaches, the target, such as an enemy vehicle, will be a better conductor than the ground it sits on, leading to a massive current rocketing through it.
Fischer said: ‘Light travels more slowly in gases and solids than it does in a vacuum.
‘We typically think of the speed of light in each material as constant. There is, however, a very small additional intensity-dependent factor to its speed.
‘In air, this factor is positive, so light slows down by a tiny fraction when the light is more intense.
‘If a laser puts out a pulse with modest energy, but the time is incredibly tiny, the power can be huge – during the duration of the laser pulse, it can be putting out more power than a large city needs, but the pulse only lasts for two-trillionths of a second.
‘We use an ultra-short-pulse laser of modest energy to make a laser beam so intense that it focuses on itself in air and stays focused in a filament.’
To put the energy output in perspective, a big filament light bulb uses 100 watts. The laser output is 50 billion watts of optical power.
‘If a laser beam is intense enough, its electro-magnetic field is strong enough to rip electrons off of air molecules, creating plasma.
‘This plasma is located along the path of the laser beam, so we can direct it wherever we want by moving a mirror.’
Tom Shadis, project officer on the program said: ‘Definitely our last week of testing in January 2012 was a highlight.
‘We had a well thought-out test plan and our ARDEC and contractor team worked together tirelessly and efficiently over long hours to work through the entire plan.
‘The excellent results certainly added to the excitement and camaraderie.’
As development continues, Shadis said that those involved with the project never lose sight of the importance of their work.
‘We were all proud to be serving our warfighters and can picture the LIPC system saving U.S. lives,’ Fischer said.