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\nUSS Dewey DDG 105<\/p>\n
\nUSS Dewey DDG 105<\/p>\n
By: Sam LaGrone<\/p>\n
Recall our discussion about the Navy’s Rail Gun, and the potential it has, but the reality is it’s not mature enough a system to be fielded? Yet. Until it is ready for Prime Time, the Navy is testing hypervelocity projectiles (HVP) using the ubiquitous 5 inch naval gun. While no match, round for round, with the Rail Gun, the HVP is a revolutionary change in powder weapons.There also is a 155mm under consideration for our Marines and the Nautically Challenged Branch.<\/p>\n
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A range of hyper velocity projectiles from different weapon systems. BAE Systems Image<\/p>\n
Last summer USS Dewey (DDG-105) fired 20 hyper velocity projectiles (HVP) from a standard Mk 45 5-inch deck gun in a quiet experiment that\u2019s set to add new utility to the weapon found on almost every U.S. warship, officials familiar with the test have told USNI News.<\/p>\n
The test, conducted by the Navy and the Pentagon\u2019s Strategic Capabilities Office as part of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 international exercise, was part of a series of studies to prove the Navy could turn the more than 40-year-old deck gun design into an effective and low-cost weapon against cruise missiles and larger unmanned aerial vehicles.<\/p>\n
While the HVP was originally designed to be the projectile for the electromagnetic railgun, the Navy and the Pentagon see the potential for a new missile defense weapon that can launch a guided round at near-hypersonic speeds.<\/p>\n
Currently, the fleet uses a combination of missiles \u2013 like the Evolved Seasparrow Missile, the Rolling Airframe Missile and the Standard Missile 2 \u2013 to ward off cruise missile threats. The missiles are effective but also expensive, Bryan Clark with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments told USNI News on Monday.<\/p>\n
In 2016, guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG-87) fired three missiles to ward off two suspected Iranian cruise missiles fired from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, in what amounted to a multi-million dollar engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if you think about the kinds of threats you might face in the Middle East, the lower-end cruise missiles or a larger UAV, now you have a way to shoot them down that doesn\u2019t require you use a $2 million ESSM or $1 million RAM because a hyper velocity projectile \u2013 even in the highest-end estimates have it in the $75,000 to $100,000 range, and that\u2019s for the fanciest version of it with an onboard seeker,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
An added benefit of using HVP in powder guns is the gun\u2019s high rate of fire and a large magazine capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get 15 rounds a minute for an air defense mission as well as a surface-to-surface mission,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThat adds significant missile defense capacity when you think that each of those might be replacing a ESSM or a RAM missile. They\u2019re a lot less expensive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n