US Navy Could Add "Hypervelocity Projectile" to Deck-Mounted 5-inch Guns
BAE Systems has been working with the Navy the mature Mk45 technology
KRIS OSBORN, WARRIOR MAVEN - CENTER FOR MILITARY MODERNIZATION12 HOURS AGO
By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
As Houthi-drone and small boat attacks intensify in the Red Sea, US Navy attention has been further directed toward its series of ongoing upgrades to layered ship defenses, a long-standing campaign to better arm surface ships against a new generation of potential enemy threats.
A critical part of this has involved multi-year efforts to increase the range, precision and lethality of the US Navy’s famous 5-inch guns. Since the WWII era, these Mk45 deck-mounted guns have delivered suppressive fire, attack land targets, fortified amphibious assaults with supportive fires and fired on enemy ships. In more recent years, the changing threat equation has inspired the Navy to pursue a number of efforts to improve range, precision and lethality for the Mk 45.
BAE Systems has been working with the Navy the mature Mk45 technology, some of which goes back to previous service efforts on a "rail gun," however the firm has ventured beyond these previous efforts to migrate the HVP from its previous applications to deck-mounted Navy Mk45 5-inch guns. The early days of the HVP started back in 2013 in collaboration between BAE Systems and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren for the Railgun Program.
https://warriormaven.com/sea/us-navy-could-add-hypervelocity-projectile-to-deck-mounted-5-inch-guns