In fact, more than three months have passed since Chen Nian provided the core technology of the electromagnetic gun and is now ready to install it on the ship.
With the theory already fully prepared, it took three months to make the first prototype, which was not too fast.
After receiving the call, Chen Nian immediately returned to his residence. After saying hello to Chen Guo, he took a car to the Zhongbing 206 Research Institute.
Institute 206 is not far from Northwestern Polytechnical University, only two hours away by car. After arriving at the place, Chen Nian followed the contact person Chen Guo gave and found Wang Weibin, the person in charge of the electromagnetic gun project. The latter was extremely enthusiastic and even He was received with some trepidation.
"Gong Chen, I have been looking forward to your arrival for a long time!"
"The technology you gave us has at least advanced our electromagnetic gun technology by more than 10 years!"
"I've always wanted to find a chance to have a good chat with you, but I was afraid of wasting your time."
Chen Nian held his extended hand and replied with a smile:
"No, no, our technology in the field of electromagnetic guns is still very strong. At least it is one of the few areas where it is better than the United States, right?"
After hearing his words, Wang Weibin scratched his head in embarrassment.
"A little stronger, Mr. Chen, let's go see the cannon now?"
"Let's go!"
The two walked out of the office and walked towards the experimental site.
On the way, Chen Nian suddenly thought of a question, so he asked:
"Do you have an engineer named Zhang Jiange here?"
"Zhang Jiange? We don't have one here. He is from the 713 Institute. He is considered the technical backbone there. He has come to our institute to communicate before."
"Gong Chen, are you interested in him?"
Chen Nian shook his head, then nodded again.
He was indeed interested in Zhang Jiange, but this interest was not a technical one.
According to his memory, Zhang Jiange should still be working in Zhengzhou at this time, responsible for the next sub-project of the electromagnetic gun project related to the barrel length.
His technical talents have been demonstrated to a certain extent, and he has been reused by the 713 Institute.
However, such reuse did not pay off in the future.
The reason is simple. In just a few years, this person will become the biggest fool in the history of China's electromagnetic gun development.
He provided a large number of confidential technical documents related to electromagnetic guns to the outside world, which greatly promoted the development of electromagnetic guns in the United States. But what is ridiculous is that for such a key technology, his total profit from beginning to end was less than 200,000 US dollars.
If he can be more patient and wait a few years for the status of Chinese scientific researchers to gradually improve, the rewards he can get in the future are likely to be more than ten times.
But unfortunately, he chose the wrong path.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Nian said:
"I have some knowledge of this person. I think his technical ideas are pretty good."
"But it's not easy to draw a conclusion now. I suggest we keep an eye on it."
Chen Nian didn't tell him clearly, because in 2007, this person had not done anything illegal at all.
We can't go out to the police in vain, saying that this person may become a spy in the future. Should we arrest him in advance or transfer him from key positions in advance?
This approach is neither reasonable nor smart.
Therefore, the best way is to expose him to the sight of various departments. In other words, keep a close eye on him.
If there are any abnormal signs, it is too late to deal with them immediately.
However, from another perspective, with the rapid advancement of China's electromagnetic gun technology, it is not that easy for him to leak secrets.
After all, even before his key contributions to the project were announced, Chen Nian had already intercepted him. He was not well-known in the United States, so naturally he would not be targeted as a "potential stock."
Wang Weibin nodded thoughtfully and said:
"Then I'll mention it to 713 if I have the chance. If this person is really useful, I might as well move him up."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nian immediately understood what Wang Weibin meant.
Obviously, the other party can understand his hint.
Moreover, his handling method was just as he expected. He would not do anything to Zhang Jiange for the time being, but he would strengthen his review and assessment.
Chatting with smart people is so comfortable.
Before Chen Nian had time to sigh, the two of them had already walked to the testing site. What caught their eyes was the electromagnetic gun that Chen Nian had been thinking about.
"This is our cannon!"
Wang Weibin touched the outer wall of the electromagnetic gun and introduced to Chen Nian:
"The total length of the turret and gun barrel is 19 meters, the height is more than four meters, and the width is more than 6 meters."
"In general, the size is more than half smaller than the current experimental model in the United States, and it has fully reached the standard for shipboard use."
"The biggest problem we have to solve now is the problem of dedicated generating units."
"Currently, there has been a breakthrough at the 704 Institute, and we are also communicating with Mr. Ma Weiming, and will be included in the unified layout of the integrated power system in the future."
"As long as the power problem is solved, there will be no obstacles to putting the electromagnetic gun on the ship."
"It is even possible that we will directly use the electromagnetic gun as the main gun and the traditional naval gun as the secondary gun."
"We have to study this further, there is no rush for now."
While listening to Wang Weibin's introduction, Chen Nian stepped forward curiously.
He touched the barrel and asked subconsciously:
"Has it been converted into a rail gun?"
"Yes, changed."
Wang Weibin nodded slightly and continued to explain:
"Originally, our main direction was coil guns, but since you have directly solved the problem of plasma ablation, we don't have to worry about it anymore. If we switch to rail guns, the effect will not be much different."
In fact, the electromagnetic coil gun and the rail gun are two different design solutions based on the same principle, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Among them, the advantages of the rail gun are its simple structure, high shell stability, and the ability to adjust the muzzle velocity through the current, giving it better flexibility.
Its disadvantages are that the skin effect is obvious, ablation is serious, and the energy utilization efficiency is much worse than that of the coil gun.
And what about the coil gun?
The energy utilization efficiency can reach close to 100%, there is no friction between the projectile body and the barrel, and there is less wear and tear.
But the problem is that the coil synchronization problem is difficult to solve, resulting in the stability of the projectile not being guaranteed, and the strength requirements for the armature coil are also very high, making it very difficult to implement.
Taken together, based on China's current industrial base and technological level, rail guns will be the most cost-effective choice in the next twenty to thirty years.
As for the coil gun, we can wait until the technology matures further before slowly exploring and improving it.
After all, with the introduction of integrated power transmission systems and ultra-high-power gas turbines, a mere 50% energy loss is actually not a big deal.
"How's the effect?"
Chen Nian asked.
"It works. You can try it now, Mr. Chen, let's see?"
Wang Weibin answered immediately.
Chen Nian couldn't help but want to laugh.
If you don’t look, what am I doing here?
So, he opened his mouth and said:
"Then give it a try."
Wang Weibin immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and retreated outside the safe area with Chen Nian.
Then, engineers who had been waiting around for a long time came forward to complete the security inspection and preparations. In just a few minutes, the capacitor was charged and the huge cooling fan started running.
For a time, a buzzing sound resounded throughout the entire testing site, and along with the lighting of various indicator lights, the temperament of this stainless steel and iron testing shed also changed.
From the original rural fringe style, it has become a futuristic science fiction style.
Reports from various staff members continued to come from the intercom.
"Preparations are complete, charging has ended, the target is locked, and the test can begin."
"The temperature of the gun barrel is normal, and it is ready to cool down."
"Roger, the fan is on, start loading."
"Loading is complete, preheating is complete, and it is ready to launch."
"Received, ready to launch."
After the last report fell, Wang Weibin turned to look at Chen Nian. Chen Nian nodded slightly, and then Wang Weibin gave the launch order.
"Start test shooting!"
"Start test shooting."
The operator repeated Wang Weibin's instructions one last time, and then pressed the launch button.
There are no signs.
First, the air shook slightly, and then, the fire of plasma ablation rose from the guide rail, followed by the huge explosion of the shell breaking through the sound barrier, and the thick smoke produced by the ablation of the projectile's propulsion part.
In just an instant, the launch was completed, and with the support of the automatic filling device, the second shell was immediately loaded onto the guide rail.
The fan of the cooling system quickly sucked away the thick smoke and the dust residue generated by the ablation, and discharged it to the rear end of the electromagnetic gun, and the temperature of the guide rail dropped rapidly.
In less than 10 seconds, the second shell came out.
Then came the third and fourth shots.
After firing six rounds, the entire launch test was finally over.
Chen Nian looked at the electromagnetic gun after the launch with shock on his face, then turned to Wang Weibin and asked:
"Have you completed the automatic reloading system? How high can the rate of fire be?"
Wang Weibin nodded proudly and replied:
"Auto-loading is nothing, just a gadget."
"Now we are still using a simplified version, which is just fine. After it is actually put on the ship, based on the performance of this gun, the maximum rate of fire can reach about 30 rounds."
30 rounds per minute, which is almost the same as the 055 H/PJ-45A.
The latter's maximum rate of fire is actually about 40 rounds.
"What about the range? How far can it reach?"
"The current muzzle velocity is about Mach 7.5, and the range is about 400 to 500 kilometers."
"However, to reach the ultimate range, the missile body design must be adjusted in the future."
"As for the power, we'll just take a look at it later."
"What about spreading?"
Chen Nian spoke again.
"The maximum range dispersion is about 200 meters, and the accuracy is already exaggerated. If needle-shaped warheads are used in the future, the accuracy can be further improved."
"In addition, regarding accuracy, we have cooperated with the 14th Institute to complete the design of the fire control radar for this gun. However, there is no base installed now, so the fire control radar cannot be used for the time being."
"It's really strong."
Chen Nian said with sigh.
In fact, although the accuracy of modern artillery has been greatly improved, it is still extremely difficult to achieve an accuracy of less than 100.
Even if the influence of external environmental factors is not taken into account, a 0.1% error in the explosive velocity caused by air temperature and moderate temperature may cause the final impact point to be spread by more than 200 meters.
Not to mention the changes in initial disturbance factors caused by changes in air pressure after the bore temperature increases.
And this newly born electromagnetic gun can actually achieve a maximum range of 200 meters of dispersion - this cannot simply be said to be "powerful", it is simply incredible.
So now it seems that as long as the power of the artillery shells is strong enough, it is certain that the electromagnetic gun will replace the traditional artillery.
"Let's go look at the target."
Chen Nian said.
"Okay, let's go in the car!"
Wang Weibin immediately arranged for the staff to cut off the power of the electromagnetic gun and perform a safety check. Then, the two of them came to the target one kilometer away.
It was said to be a target, but in fact, the cannon just hit a string of "steel walls."
More than twenty steel plates with a thickness of more than 10cm were arranged in a row, and the six shells all penetrated the first eight steel plates smoothly. It was not until the ninth piece that the bullet holes began to appear in irregular shapes.
This means that the tungsten alloy warhead has begun to deform and its kinetic energy has begun to decrease.
However, a decrease in kinetic energy does not mean a lack of kinetic energy.
All the warheads still penetrated 5 steel plates strongly, and it was not until the 14th steel plate that they were finally blocked.
"It's amazing."
Chen Nian sighed involuntarily.
"Isn't it amazing? Even the special depleted uranium armor-piercing projectiles can only penetrate up to about 800 millimeters. The tungsten alloy warhead used in this gun has a penetration depth of 900 millimeters."
"If it were on land, one shell would be enough to hit three M1A2s right through each other."
"If it's at sea, against a thin-skinned target like a warship, it won't be a problem to penetrate four or five ships."
"It's not a good thing if the penetration is too good. Some optimizations need to be done in this area."
Chen Nian shook his head and continued:
"And I don't mean the power is amazing, I mean the stability of this gun is amazing."
"The six rounds are fired in different sequences, but there is almost no difference in destructive performance."
"This alone is much stronger than traditional artillery."
"After all, it uses electricity, and all parameters are controllable."
"Normally, the difference in muzzle velocity of each shell is within one hundred thousandth."
Wang Weibin stretched out his hand to tentatively touch the completely deformed warhead embedded in the steel plate, but he immediately retracted it before his hand could get closer.
"It's still very hot, so don't touch it."
Chen Nian couldn't help but rolled his eyes. He had no intention of touching it.
The two of them looked around the target twice, and Chen Nian finally had a basic understanding of the performance of this gun.
It seems that the design standards were not only met, but exceeded.
Chen Guo was not joking when she said on the phone before, "We are ready to board the ship."
"When are you going to board the ship?"
Chen Nian asked.
"It depends on the plan of the 055 project team, but I heard that it may be on board within the next two months."
"In addition, before going to 055, we will use a 052 as a test ship. The transformation has been completed and sea trials will be conducted within this month."
"Within this month? So soon?!"
Wang Weibin nodded and replied:
"Yes, it is not too difficult in itself. We just use this ship as a platform and do not pursue combat performance."
"But it does fire, right?"
"of course."
Hearing this answer, Chen Nian suddenly had a bold idea in his heart.
At sea, it can be launched.
Well, since we've already beaten you, why not
Aiming for useful goals?
