Advanced Weapon Launcher (AWL) Systems and Technologies

General Atomics (GA) is actively working to bring Advanced Electromagnetic Launch Technology to the US Department of Defense in several important areas.  GA is currently supporting the development of advanced pulsed power, launcher, and projectile technology as part of the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Railgun Innovative Naval Prototype Program.  In addition, GA is pursuing opportunities within the Navy to transition similar technology for Naval Ship Defense and for the development of “Cold Electromagnetic Missile Launch” technology.  Many of these technologies are also relevant for application to other DOD and commercial missions.

NAVAL RAIL GUN

GA has been a leader in the development of railgun launcher and pulsed power technologies for many decades. In the 1980s, under Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO) contracts and other Department of Defense (DOD) programs, GA led or participated in the development of advanced rail gun barrels, projectiles, pulsed power supplies, switching and pulse forming networks (PFNs), and thermal management technologies. GA is bringing this past experience as well as other key technologies as it leads the development of several key systems within ONR’s Railgun INP Program.

With the advantages of hypervelocity launch at speeds in excess of seven times the speed of sound, EM Railgun provides game changing possibilities for both long range Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) of missions far inland (+200 nautical miles) and for ship defense.  The advantages for NSFS include elimination of energetics (propellant and high explosives) because the terminal velocity provides sufficient lethality due to high kinetic energy, which translates to significant improvements in ship survivability and a much reduced logistics tail, elimination of unexploded ordnance, and the potential for reduced collateral damage due to the focused nature of energy release. 

In the case of ship defense, the launch package can reach the horizon in seconds.  This allows for engagement of threats much quicker and farther away than current systems, having the ability to replace multiple systems in the current layered defense approach, with the potential for reduction in the cost to defeat multiple threats by several orders of magnitude, and with a much deeper magazine than alternative approaches. 

GA is well positioned to support the Navy’s EM Railgun program in multiple areas. 

Integrated Power System:  GA’s previous and current experience in the development of advanced Integrated Power Systems for Naval propulsion and weapons provides unique insights into the integration of this weapon system in future electric warships. 

Pulsed Power Energy Storage Systems:  GA is also currently leading a program to provide the necessary capacitor based pulse power energy storage to support testing at the Navy’s Electromagnetic Launch Facility (EMLF) in Dahlgren, VA.  GA, supported by team members GA Electronic Systems Inc. and L3 Communications Pulse Sciences division, is under contract for the design and construction of a land-based proof-of-concept demonstration pulsed power system and for technology development and preliminary design of an electromagnetic rail gun launcher.  GA is contracted and has currently partially delivered 81 megajoules (MJ) of capacitor banks for this facility.  The capacitors store energy from an AC power source and release it using solid state switching technology in pulses of up to 5.5 mega-amps in 10 milliseconds to power various rail gun launcher experiments and demonstrations. The EMLF will be the principal test

bed for the U.S. Navy rail gun development program.  When completed, the EMLF will be the largest rail gun test facility ever built. 

In addition, GA is developing next generation pulsed power systems that provide mobility and are self contained to operate within a “proving ground” environment using next generation high energy density topologies and components.

Advanced Containment Launcher:  GA is currently under contract to develop an Advanced Containment Launcher to support ONR’s INP demonstration objectives in 2011.  These objectives include a launcher capable of delivering a muzzle energy of 32 MJ (sufficient to support a 110 nmi mission) with muzzle velocities of 2.5 km/sec.  This launcher involves the development of technologies appropriate for fielding tactically relevant containment with a bore life that exceeds 100 shots.  GA’s launcher has benefited from the internal development of an industry leading advanced coupled modeling capability that simulates the bore environment and associated mechanical and thermal stresses for an entire launch.  Modeling, coupled with a robust prototyping and test program will lead to significant planned risk mitigation before construction of the 2011 demonstration system.

Artist's rendering of 32-MJ advanced launcher

Projectile Development:  GA is supporting one of the projectile teams developing a tactical launch package on ONR’s Railgun INP program.  GA is applying its advanced modeling tools to predict the bore environment the projectile must survive during launch (EM, thermal, mechanical) and development of armature designs that can sustain the intense thermal and stress environment.

For more information, contact:
Tom Hurn, Program Director
Advanced Launcher Systems
Thomas.Hurn@gat.com