Long-range ballistics with EM guns

Abstract

The ability of electromagnetic (EM) guns to launch payloads at very high velocities has been shown to enable some new potential for long range bombardment from both ship and shore. This paper examines long-range ballistics in detail to highlight the launch parameters of importance to EM gun designers. The use of kinetic energy at long range for target defeat is introduced in the atmospheric effects section of this paper and later examined through specific case studies. High kinetic energy, on target, is a key capability enabled by the higher launch velocities associated with EM guns. This paper also shows the sensitivity of range, impact energy, and time of flight on the launch velocity in the regime of high altitude trajectories (enabled by EM launch).