General Atomics has announced the award of a follow-on task order valued at $22 million from the Office of Naval Research for the completion of an Advanced Containment Launcher (ACL) in support of the Office of Naval Research’s Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) Rail Gun Program. The 34-month effort will be focused on the final design, fabrication, and testing of an ACL prototype capable of delivering a muzzle energy of 32 megajoules. This level of energy in a tactical application would provide a range of up to 110 nautical miles, which is far greater than any conventional guns currently in use by the Navy. The rail gun launcher technology uses high power electromagnetic thrust instead of explosive chemical propellants to launch a projectile farther and faster than any preceding gun. The eventual fielded system is expected to launch guided projectiles at speeds up to Mach 7.5 with a range of more than 200 nautical miles.View the original announcement on the General Atomics website.
$22 Million for Continued Work on EM Rail Gun
