The last 24-hrs have been a fun one for those who never lost their enthusiasm for the general purpose naval gun. Nice that the right people never lost their enthusiasm as well.
As reported by our Sam LaGrone on Tuesday;
Last summer USS Dewey (DDG-105) fired 20 hyper velocity projectiles (HVP) from a standard Mk 45 5-inch deck gun in a quiet experiment that’s set to add new utility to the weapon found on almost every U.S. warship, officials familiar with the test have told USNI News.
The test, conducted by the Navy and the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office as part of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 international exercise, was part of a series of studies to prove the Navy could turn the more than 40-year-old deck gun design into an effective and low-cost weapon against cruise missiles and larger unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the finest tradition of evolving existing, proven systems, we took the exceptionally reliable 5″/62 gun with the newly developed projectile for the rail gun now in development.
While the HVP was originally designed to be the projectile for the electromagnetic railgun, the Navy and the Pentagon see the potential for a new missile defense weapon that can launch a guided round at near-hypersonic speeds.
“You can get 15 rounds a minute for an air defense mission as well as a surface-to-surface mission,” Clark said. “That adds significant missile defense capacity when you think that each of those might be replacing a ESSM or a RAM missile. They’re a lot less expensive.”
…and you can carry a lot more of them.
Here is the not so hidden weak spot for both defensive and offensive missile systems – you simply cannot carry enough.
Like the surface launched torpedo of WWII fame, ASCM are a deadly 1-hit kill weapon … but they a few in number and have an iffy PK especially against an alerted foe. Once they are shot … unless you want to re-engage – what are your options?
Your gun.
While the theory of the battle of the first salvo is solid – history shows many examples where one or both sides continue the fight in close range. Giving a proven and existing weapon system like our 5″ gun more weaponeering options expands its utility in a broad spectrum of engagements.
It isn’t a railgun. It isn’t a directed energy weapon. But you know what it is? It is here and working. Sure, HVP doesn’t pack a lot of HE, but it doesn’t need to. F=MA will create enough secondaries in today’s thin skinned, minimally manned, and exquisitely designed warships.
Clearly more work needs to be done on the HVP and we don’t know the cost/round, but let’s take a moment to remember what capability the 5″ gun already brings to the fight. There is something to be said for volume fire after the first salvo. You don’t need a magazine full of HVP, just enough to make things interesting.
As we work to design our Large Surface Combatant, let’s remember a couple of things; the SPRUANCE and TICONDEROGA Class both had two 5″ guns.
The last real contested naval battle was the Falkland Islands War. Results from that were clear to the British to the point that the Type 22 Batch III had a 4.5″ gun added – and every Royal Navy surface ship since has been up-gunned as much as practical.
In more modern engagements, from the Al Faw in 2003 to Libya in 2011 – time and time again the general purpose naval gun has proved its utility.
As the Italians continue to refine their Volcano system, let us expand the options with the HVT. Who knows, maybe we’ll find a use for those beautiful 6.1″ … oh, excuse me, 155mm guns on the ZUMWALT Class.
HVP, some HVP, or no HVP – the gun is the most reliable, flexible, and needed weapon a warship can carry. Pack the largest and most that you can. That’s another lesson history tells us.
