Yes, This Is A Ramjet Powered Artillery Shell And It Could Be A Game Changer

[rangerrebew]

Yes, This Is A Ramjet Powered Artillery Shell And It Could Be A Game Changer
The new round could dramatically extend the range of existing guns and significantly expand the flexibility of even small artillery units.
By Joseph TrevithickJune 14, 2018

 

Norway's Nammo has unveiled a potentially revolutionary concept for an air-breathing, ramjet-powered, pseudo-missile that any standard 155mm howitzer can fire at targets more than 60 miles away. The U.S. Army has already expressed an interest in just such a projectile, which could also end up in service with the U.S. Marine Corps, and the round might finally offer a way for the U.S. Navy to make use of the cannons on its new, stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers.

The defense contractor revealed a full-size mockup of the design, which it is simply calling the 155mm Solid Fuel Ramjet at present, at the biennial Eurosatory arms expo in the French capital Paris, which began on June 11, 2018. The firm expects to begin live-fire testing of the projectile in 2019 or 2020 and hopes to have the new ammunition in production and in operational service with a military by between 2023 and 2024.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/21531/yes-this-is-a-ramjet-powered-artillery-shell-and-it-could-be-a-game-changer

[GtHawk]

Did someone say Ramjet?


Sorry

[Taxcontrol]

I have always thought that an artillery shell could adopt the old concept of the gyro-jet bullet by adding to the bottom of the projectile, a solid rocket fuel case that would be ignited by the initial firing and then provide a thrust that would slightly exceed the wind resistance for the time that it took to reach the current range limit.  This would then work to extend the range by overcoming the air resistance.  I am not sure of how much additional range this would add but it would be an interesting experiment.

DARPA, are you listening?

[rangerrebew]

DARPA, are you listening?

Did you say something? ^-^