Phantom targets of electromagnetic weapons. Russian electromagnetic weapons Defeat missiles and precision-guided munitions with EMP

Technique and Internet 20.09.2019

Technique and Internet

Electromagnetic weapons: what the Russian army is ahead of competitors

Pulse electromagnetic weapons, or the so-called. "jammers", is a real, already being tested, type of weapons Russian army. The United States and Israel are also conducting successful developments in this area, however, they have relied on the use of EMP systems to generate kinetic energy warhead.

We have taken the straight path damaging factor and created prototypes of several combat systems at once - for ground forces, Air Force and Navy. According to the experts working on the project, the development of the technology has already passed the stage of field tests, but now there is work on the bugs and an attempt to increase the power, accuracy and range of radiation.

Today our "Alabuga", bursting at an altitude of 200-300 meters, is able to turn off all electronic equipment within a radius of 3.5 km and leave military unit battalion / regiment scale without means of communication, control, fire guidance, while turning all the available enemy equipment into a pile of useless scrap metal. In fact, there are no options other than to surrender and give heavy weapons to the advancing units of the Russian army as trophies.

"Jammer" of electronics

The advantages of such a "non-lethal" defeat are obvious - the enemy will only have to surrender, and the equipment can be obtained as a trophy. The problem is only in the effective means of delivering this charge - it has a relatively large mass and the missile must be large enough, and, as a result, very vulnerable to hitting air defense / missile defense systems, ”the expert explained.

Upon contact with these formations, air targets underwent huge dynamic overloads and were destroyed. The coordinated work of microwave radiation sources made it possible to quickly change the focus point, that is, to retarget at great speed or to accompany objects of almost any aerodynamic characteristics. Experiments have shown that the impact is effective even on warheads of ICBMs. In fact, this is not even a microwave weapon, but combat plasmoids.

Unfortunately, when in 1993 a team of authors presented a draft air defense/missile defense system based on these principles for consideration by the state, Boris Yeltsin immediately proposed a joint development to the American president. And although cooperation on the project did not take place, perhaps this was what prompted the Americans to create a complex in Alaska HAARP (High frequency Active Auroral Research Program)- research project on the study of the ionosphere and auroras. Note that for some reason that peaceful project has funding from the agency DARPA Pentagon.

Already entering service with the Russian army

To understand what place the topic of electronic warfare occupies in the military-technical strategy of the Russian military department, it is enough to look at the State Armaments Program until 2020. From 21 trillion. rubles of the general budget of the SAP, 3.2 trillion. (about 15%) is planned to be directed to the development and production of attack and defense systems using sources of electromagnetic radiation. For comparison, in the Pentagon's budget, according to experts, this share is much less - up to 10%.

Now let's look at what you can already "feel", i.e. those products that have reached the series and entered service over the past few years.

Mobile electronic warfare systems "Krasukha-4" suppress spy satellites, ground-based radars and AWACS aircraft systems, completely closes from radar detection for 150-300 km, and can also inflict radar damage on enemy electronic warfare and connections. The operation of the complex is based on the creation of powerful interference at the main frequencies of radars and other radio-emitting sources. Manufacturer: OJSC "Bryansk Electromechanical Plant" (BEMZ).

Sea-based electronic warfare tool TK-25E provides effective protection for ships of various classes. The complex is designed to provide radio-electronic protection of an object from radio-controlled air and ship-based weapons by creating active interference. The interface of the complex with various systems protected object, such as a navigation system, a radar station, an automated system combat control. The TK-25E equipment provides for the creation of various types of interference with a spectrum width from 64 to 2000 MHz, as well as impulse misinformation and imitation interference using signal copies. The complex is capable of simultaneously analyzing up to 256 targets. Equipping the protected object with the TK-25E complex three times or more reduces the likelihood of its defeat.

Multifunctional complex Mercury-BM developed and produced at KRET enterprises since 2011 and is one of the most modern electronic warfare systems. The main purpose of the station is to protect manpower and equipment from single and salvo fire artillery ammunition equipped with radio fuses. Enterprise-developer: JSC "All-Russian "Gradient"(VNII "Gradient"). Similar devices are produced by Minsk "KB RADAR". Note that radio fuses are now equipped with up to 80% western field artillery shells, mines and unguided rockets and almost all precision-guided munitions, these are enough simple means allow you to protect troops from defeat, including directly in the zone of contact with the enemy.

Concern "Constellation" produces a series of small-sized (portable, transportable, autonomous) jammers of the series RP-377. They can be used to jam signals. GPS, and in a stand-alone version, equipped with power sources, also placing the transmitters on a certain area, limited only by the number of transmitters.

Now an export version of a more powerful suppression system is being prepared. GPS and weapon control channels. It is already a system of object and area protection against high-precision weapons. It was built on a modular principle, which allows you to vary the areas and objects of protection.

From unclassified developments, MNIRTI products are also known - "Sniper-M","I-140/64" and "Gigawatt" made on the basis of car trailers. They, in particular, are used to develop means of protecting radio engineering and digital systems for military, special and civilian purposes from EMP damage.

Likbez

The element base of the RES is very sensitive to energy overloads, and the flow of electromagnetic energy is sufficient high density capable of burning out semiconductor junctions, completely or partially disrupting their normal functioning.

Low-frequency EMO creates electromagnetic pulsed radiation at frequencies below 1 MHz, high-frequency EMO affects microwave radiation - both pulsed and continuous. Low-frequency EMO affects the object through pickups on wired infrastructure, including telephone lines, cables external power supply, submission and removal of information. High-frequency EMO directly penetrates the object's electronic equipment through its antenna system.

In addition to affecting the enemy's RES, high-frequency EMO can also affect the skin and internal organs of a person. At the same time, as a result of their heating in the body, chromosomal and genetic changes, activation and deactivation of viruses, transformation of immunological and behavioral reactions are possible.

chief technical means getting powerful electromagnetic impulses, forming the basis of low-frequency EMO, is a generator with explosive compression magnetic field. Another potential type of high level low frequency magnetic energy source could be a magnetodynamic generator powered by propellant or explosive.

When implementing high-frequency EMO, such electronic devices as broadband magnetrons and klystrons, gyrotrons operating in the millimeter range, virtual cathode generators (vircators) using the centimeter range, free electron lasers and broadband plasma-beam lasers can be used as a generator of high-power microwave radiation. generators.

electromagnetic weapon, EATAnd

Electromagnetic gun "Angara", test

Electronic bomb - a fantastic weapon of Russia

Only Russia is armed with electromagnetic munitions September 29th, 2017

Enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex have created a powerful electromagnetic missile "Alabuga", which has a warhead with a high-power electromagnetic field generator. It was reported that it was able to cover an area of 3.5 kilometers with one blow and disable all electronics, turning it into a "pile of scrap metal."

Mikheev explained that "Alabuga" is not a specific weapon: under this code, in 2011-2012, a whole range of scientific research was completed, during which the main directions for the development of electronic weapons of the future were determined.

"A very serious theoretical assessment was carried out and practical work on laboratory models and specialized training grounds, during which the nomenclature of electronic weapons and the degree of their impact on equipment were determined," Mikheev said.

This effect can vary in intensity: "Starting from the usual interference effect with the temporary removal of enemy weapons systems and military equipment up to its complete electronic destruction, leading to energetic, destructive damage to the main electronic elements, boards, blocks and systems."

After the completion of this work, all data on its results were closed, and the very topic of microwave weapons fell into the category of critical technologies with the highest secrecy stamp, Mikheev emphasized.
"Today we can only say that all these developments have been translated into the plane of specific development work on the creation of electromagnetic weapons: shells, bombs, missiles carrying a special explosive magnetic generator, in which the so-called microwave electromagnetic pulse is created due to the energy of the explosion. , which disables all enemy equipment at a certain distance," the source said.

Such developments are carried out by all the leading world powers - in particular, the United States and China, the KRET representative concluded.

Today, Russia is the only country in the world that is armed with ammunition equipped with electromagnetic generators, said Chief Editor magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland", a member of the expert council of the board of the military-industrial complex Viktor Murakhovsky.
This is how he commented on the words of Vladimir Mikheev, adviser to the first deputy general director of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern, who said that radio-electronic munitions are being created in Russia that can disable enemy equipment due to a powerful microwave pulse.

"We have such regular ammunition - for example, there are such generators in the warheads of anti-aircraft missiles, there are also rounds for hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers equipped with such generators. In this area, we are at the forefront in the world, similar ammunition, as far as I know, so far on supply foreign armies no. In the United States and China, such equipment is now only at the testing stage," RIA Novosti quotes V. Murakhovsky.

The expert noted that today the Russian defense industry is working to increase the effectiveness of such ammunition, as well as to increase the electromagnetic pulse due to new materials and new design schemes. At the same time, Murakhovsky emphasized that such a weapon should be called " electromagnetic bombs"not entirely correct, since today the Russian army is armed with only anti-aircraft missiles and grenade launchers equipped with such generators.

Speaking about the electronic weapons of the future being developed today in Russia, the interlocutor cited the microwave gun project, which is currently at the stage of scientific research, as an example.

"At the R&D stage there is a new product on tracked chassis, which generates radiation capable of incapacitating a drone at a great distance. This is exactly what is now colloquially called a "microwave gun," Murakhovsky said.

For the first time, the world saw a real-life prototype of electromagnetic weapons at the LIMA-2001 arms exhibition in Malaysia. There was an export version domestic complex"Knapsack-E". It is made on the MAZ-543 chassis, has a mass of about 5 tons, provides a guaranteed defeat of ground target electronics, an aircraft or guided munition at ranges up to 14 kilometers and disturbances in its operation at a distance of up to 40 km. Despite the fact that the first-born made a splash in the world media, experts noted a number of its shortcomings. Firstly, the size of an effectively hit target does not exceed 30 meters in diameter, and secondly, the weapon is disposable - reloading takes more than 20 minutes, during which the miracle cannon has already been shot 15 times from the air, and it can only work on targets in an open terrain, without the slightest visual obstruction. It is probably for these reasons that the Americans abandoned the creation of such directional EMP weapons, concentrating on laser technologies. Our gunsmiths decided to try their luck and try to "bring to mind" the technology of directed EMP radiation.

Based on active pulsed radiation, a similarity of a nuclear explosion is obtained, only without a radioactive component. Field tests have shown the high efficiency of the unit - not only radio-electronic, but also conventional electronic equipment of wired architecture, fails within a radius of 3.5 km. Those. not only removes the main communication headsets from normal operation, blinding and stunning the enemy, but actually leaves the whole unit without any local electronic control systems, including weapons. The advantages of such a "non-lethal" defeat are obvious - the enemy will only have to surrender, and the equipment can be obtained as a trophy. The problem is only in the effective means of delivering this charge - it has a relatively large mass and the missile must be large enough, and, as a result, very vulnerable to hitting air defense / missile defense systems, ”the expert explained.

Interesting are the developments of NIIRP (now a division of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern) and the Physico-Technical Institute. Ioffe. Investigating the impact of powerful microwave radiation from the earth on air objects (targets), the specialists of these institutions unexpectedly received local plasma formations, which were obtained at the intersection of radiation flows from several sources. Upon contact with these formations, air targets underwent huge dynamic overloads and were destroyed. The coordinated work of microwave radiation sources made it possible to quickly change the focus point, that is, to retarget at great speed or to accompany objects of almost any aerodynamic characteristics. Experiments have shown that the impact is effective even on warheads of ICBMs. In fact, this is not even a microwave weapon, but combat plasmoids. Unfortunately, when in 1993 a team of authors presented a draft air defense/missile defense system based on these principles for consideration by the state, Boris Yeltsin immediately proposed a joint development to the American president. And although cooperation on the project did not take place, perhaps this was what prompted the Americans to create the HAARP (High freguencu Active Auroral Research Program) complex in Alaska - a research project to study the ionosphere and auroras. Note that for some reason that peaceful project has funding from the Pentagon's DARPA agency.

Reference:
The element base of the RES is very sensitive to energy overloads, and the flow of electromagnetic energy of a sufficiently high density can burn out semiconductor junctions, completely or partially disrupting their normal functioning. Low-frequency EMO creates electromagnetic pulsed radiation at frequencies below 1 MHz, high-frequency EMO affects microwave radiation - both pulsed and continuous. Low-frequency EMO affects the object through pickups on wired infrastructure, including telephone lines, external power cables, data supply and retrieval. High-frequency EMO directly penetrates the object's electronic equipment through its antenna system. In addition to affecting the enemy's RES, high-frequency EMO can also affect the skin and internal organs of a person. At the same time, as a result of their heating in the body, chromosomal and genetic changes, activation and deactivation of viruses, transformation of immunological and behavioral reactions are possible.

The main technical means of obtaining powerful electromagnetic pulses, which form the basis of low-frequency EMO, is a generator with explosive compression of the magnetic field. Another potential type of high level low frequency magnetic energy source could be a magnetodynamic generator driven by propellant or explosive. When implementing high-frequency EMO, such electronic devices as broadband magnetrons and klystrons, gyrotrons operating in the millimeter range, virtual cathode generators (vircators) using the centimeter range, free electron lasers and broadband plasma-beam lasers can be used as a generator of high-power microwave radiation. generators.

sources

Pulse Rifle - known species weapon, which has been developed in many game universes. This prototype exists in a large number of variations, each of which is considered in our material. Here the player can learn about the primary origins of the guns.

initial prototype

First pulse rifle appeared to the audience in the film "Aliens" by James Cameron. There she received the name M41A and was actively used by the main character Ellen Rippley. The prototype featured three firing modes: burst, single and salvo. The batteries are enough for a thousand shells at the same time, they are consumed quickly with an active fight.

To control ammunition, there is a special sensor on the body that shows the number of remaining cartridges. It should be noted that the weapon fires blobs of energy, not standard projectiles. The rifle can be equipped with the M92A PN and has a magazine capacity of five HE grants. After the incredible popularity of the film, weapons began to appear in the live-action adaptations of Aliens.

History of creation

The full name of this prototype during development was "M41A Pulse Rifle Pulse Rifle". Its design was developed for one day. In addition to James Cameron, military technologists from Britain Simon Atherton and Andrew Fletcher took part in the appearance of the concept. As a result of joint efforts, they managed to create a compact weapon that could theoretically exist in the near future. It fits perfectly into the entourage of the movie "Aliens". James Cameron even used a slightly modified design in the Terminator films, he liked it so much.

When stylistically, the authors were inspired by existing military models. For example, the grenade launcher became a mixture of Remington 870 shotgun models and the second Franchi SPAS-12. The name is also a redesigned version of the rifle, which entered service with the US Army in the year the film was released. Her codename is M4A1. This is how the first concept of the weapon appeared, it began to be used in many subsequent projects. As for the game universe, users can shoot from a rifle in the game "Aliens: Colonial Marines".

Great popularity

Approximate concepts to the standard design from the Aliens universe were used by the developers of the popular game Destiny 2. It was released in 2017 and attracted a huge audience. Inside the fictional world, a huge number of various weapons have been implemented for players, including impulse rifles. Standard prototypes are somewhere between scout weapons and automatic variations. The underbarrel electronic module in them is used simultaneously as a handle.

Main Feature guns can be considered large dimensions. The first design from Aliens was also not very compact, but in this game the dimensions are even larger. Standard models can be obtained by any player, they bear the typical name "Pulse Rifle" and do not have significant differences from each other. It should be noted that the Destiny 2 project is focused on gaining an advantage in battles through the best equipment. That is why the developers have added more rare prototypes.

Two other samples

The Pulse Rifle in Destiny 2 Bad Juju has more penetration power, but it's not that easy to get. Initially, you will have to pass the strike on the difficulty level "heroic" or "mythical". For this, a fragment of a special magazine is given. It refers to a character named Ikore Ray. To continue the work, the user will be given a task to farm another 25 strikes, which is a direct reference to the “grind”. Such activities are tiring and do not bring pleasure. The completion of this item will lead to a series of exchanges of things between different NPCs. At the end, the player will be sent to kill other users in a location called "Gorn" until a special scale is filled.

It takes hours, and getting the Red Death Pulse Rifle is even harder. The weapon belongs to exotic varieties. When firing from it, the user receives a number of bonuses by the type of healing or an increase in accuracy. You can get it by accumulating 23 strange coins. This price is displayed at the merchant Zyura.

Another cosmic interpretation

In the Mass Effect universe, the geth pulse rifle doesn't even remotely resemble the weapons used in Aliens. Here the prototype was developed alien race by their technology. That is why the design has rounded shapes, the case is completely covered with metal plates, the internal filling is not shown. The equipment is compact and first appears in the second part, and later - in the third.

For the first time, Commander Shepard can find Hestrom on a mission to recruit new members for his team. In a room with a technologically defective geth, there will be a rifle available for picking up. Its clear advantage is resistance to overheating. It comes only after 144 shots, the closest competitor in this direction has 106. Recoil when shooting is almost absent, but the advantages of low damage are leveled. For excellent penetration, you will have to use explosive cartridges pumped to the maximum level.

Universe of constant war

The Tau (Empire) pulse rifle will be familiar to all fans of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Foot soldiers from the Fire Caste of the same name carry weapons as standard weapons. In design, it resembles a massive long shotgun with rectangular shapes. The rifle shoots with special plasma projectiles, which, due to magnetic acceleration, cause great damage. Weapons were created for reliable opposition to the horde of Orcs on long range.

The concept of the pulse rifle has an emphasis on durability and range. She received an upgrade in containment fields compared to the Plasma Rifle. Thanks to this, she won in the defeat distance, but the damage decreased. In the Tau Empire, some of the priests do not share their brothers' contempt for this mechanism, trying to improve it.

Last option

AT Game Dead Space Pulse Rifle is also present, but in the original interpretation. Isaac Clarke receives these weapons in the course of story progress. The standard sample has three small cannons that fire blasts of energy at hypersonic speeds. This makes it effective for aimed shooting. The main disadvantage is hidden in its small area of damage. The weapon is convenient to use in narrow corridors, but in an open space surrounded by enemies, the effectiveness drops. Interestingly, among all the protagonist's weapons, only the SWS (Automatic Pulse Rifle) is used for the purpose for which it was designed. The cartridges are small-caliber, there are also additional variations of the rifle. In one of them, a grenade launcher is attached to it, in the other, the weapon resembles a shotgun.

Station of electronic suppression 1L269 "Krasukha-2" in the transport configuration. PHOTO: NPO "KVANT"

Pulse electromagnetic weapons, or the so-called. "jammers", is a real, already being tested, type of weapons of the Russian army. The United States and Israel are also conducting successful developments in this area, but they have relied on the use of EMP systems to generate the kinetic energy of a warhead.

In our country, they took the path of a direct damaging factor and created prototypes of several combat systems at once - for the ground forces, air force and navy. According to the specialists working on the project, the development of the technology has already passed the stage of field tests, but now there is work on the bugs and an attempt to increase the power, accuracy and range of radiation. Today, our Alabuga, having exploded at an altitude of 200-300 meters, is able to turn off all electronic equipment within a radius of 3.5 km and leave a battalion / regiment-scale military unit without means of communication, control, fire guidance, while turning all available enemy equipment into pile of useless scrap metal. Except how to surrender and give to the advancing units of the Russian army heavy weapons as trophies, there are essentially no options left.

"Jammer" of electronics

For the first time, the world saw a real-life prototype of electromagnetic weapons at the LIMA-2001 arms exhibition in Malaysia. An export version of the domestic Ranets-E complex was presented there. It is made on the MAZ-543 chassis, has a mass of about 5 tons, provides a guaranteed defeat of ground target electronics, an aircraft or a guided munition at ranges up to 14 kilometers and disruption in its operation at a distance of up to 40 km. Despite the fact that the first-born made a splash in the world media, experts noted a number of its shortcomings. Firstly, the size of an effectively hit target does not exceed 30 meters in diameter, and secondly, the weapon is disposable - reloading takes more than 20 minutes, during which the miracle cannon has already been shot 15 times from the air, and it can only work on targets in an open terrain, without the slightest visual obstruction. It is probably for these reasons that the Americans abandoned the creation of such directional EMP weapons, concentrating on laser technologies. Our gunsmiths decided to try their luck and try to "bring to mind" the technology of directed EMP radiation.

A specialist of the Rostec concern, who, for obvious reasons, did not want to disclose his name, in an interview with Expert Online expressed the opinion that electromagnetic pulse weapons- is already a reality, but the whole problem lies in the methods of its delivery to the target. “We are working on a project to develop an electronic warfare complex classified as “OV” called “Alabuga”. This is a rocket, the warhead of which is a high-frequency high-power electromagnetic field generator.

Already entering service with the Russian army

To understand what place the topic of electronic warfare occupies in the military-technical strategy of the Russian military department, it is enough to look at the State Armaments Program until 2020. Of the 21 trillion rubles of the total budget of the SAP, 3.2 trillion (about 15%) is planned to be directed to the development and production of attack and defense systems using sources of electromagnetic radiation. For comparison, in the Pentagon's budget, according to experts, this share is much less - up to 10%. Now let's look at what you can already "feel", i.e. those products that have reached the series and entered service over the past few years.

Krasukha-4 mobile electronic warfare systems suppress spy satellites, ground-based radars and AWACS aviation systems, completely cover from radar detection for 150-300 km, and can also inflict radar damage on enemy electronic warfare and communications equipment. The operation of the complex is based on the creation of powerful interference at the main frequencies of radars and other radio-emitting sources. Manufacturer: OJSC "Bryansk Electromechanical Plant" (BEMZ).

The TK-25E sea-based electronic warfare system provides effective protection for ships of various classes. The complex is designed to provide radio-electronic protection of an object from radio-controlled air and ship-based weapons by creating active jamming. The interface of the complex with various systems of the protected object, such as a navigation complex, a radar station, an automated combat control system, is provided. The TK-25E equipment provides for the creation of various types of interference with a spectrum width from 64 to 2000 MHz, as well as impulse misinformation and imitation interference using signal copies. The complex is capable of simultaneously analyzing up to 256 targets. Equipping the protected object with the TK-25E complex reduces the probability of its destruction by three or more times.

The multifunctional complex "Mercury-BM" has been developed and produced at KRET enterprises since 2011 and is one of the most modern systems EW. The main purpose of the station is to protect manpower and equipment from single and salvo fire of artillery ammunition equipped with radio fuses. Enterprise-developer: OAO All-Russian Scientific Research Institute Gradient (VNII Gradient). Similar devices are produced by Minsk "KB RADAR". It should be noted that up to 80% of Western field artillery shells, mines and unguided rockets and almost all precision-guided munitions are now equipped with radio fuses, these fairly simple means make it possible to protect troops from damage, including directly in the zone of contact with the enemy.

Concern "Constellation" produces a series of small-sized (portable, transportable, autonomous) jamming transmitters of the RP-377 series. With their help, you can jam GPS signals, and in a standalone version, equipped with power sources, you can also place transmitters in a certain area, limited only by the number of transmitters. Now an export version of a more powerful GPS jamming system and weapon control channels is being prepared. It is already a system of object and area protection against high-precision weapons. It was built on a modular principle, which allows you to vary the areas and objects of protection. From unclassified developments, MNIRTI products are also known - "Sniper-M", "I-140/64" and "Gigawatt", made on the basis of car trailers. They, in particular, are used to develop means of protecting radio engineering and digital systems for military, special and civilian purposes from EMP damage.

Likbez

The element base of the RES is very sensitive to energy overloads, and the flow of electromagnetic energy of a sufficiently high density can burn out semiconductor junctions, completely or partially disrupting their normal functioning. Low frequency EMO creates an electromagnetic pulse

radiation at frequencies below 1 MHz, high-frequency EMO is affected by microwave radiation - both pulsed and continuous. Low-frequency EMO affects the object through pickups on wired infrastructure, including telephone lines, external power cables, data supply and retrieval. High-frequency EMO directly penetrates the object's electronic equipment through its antenna system. In addition to affecting the enemy's RES, high-frequency EMO can also affect the skin and internal organs of a person. At the same time, as a result of their heating in the body, chromosomal and genetic changes, activation and deactivation of viruses, transformation of immunological and behavioral reactions are possible.

Other types of electromagnetic weapons.

In addition to magnetic mass accelerators, there are many other weapon types that use electromagnetic energy to function. Consider the most famous and common types of them.

Electromagnetic mass accelerators.

In addition to "gauss guns", there are at least 2 types of mass accelerators - induction mass accelerators (Thompson coil) and rail mass accelerators, also known as "rail guns" (from the English "Rail gun" - rail gun).

The operation of the induction mass accelerator is based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. A rapidly increasing electric current is created in a flat winding, which causes an alternating magnetic field in the space around. A ferrite core is inserted into the winding, on the free end of which a ring of conductive material is put on. Under the action of an alternating magnetic flux penetrating the ring, an electric current arises in it, creating a magnetic field of the opposite direction relative to the winding field. With its field, the ring begins to repel from the winding field and accelerates, flying off the free end of the ferrite rod. The shorter and stronger the current pulse in the winding, the more powerful the ring flies out.

Otherwise, the rail mass accelerator functions. In it, a conductive projectile moves between two rails - electrodes (from where it got its name - a railgun), through which current is supplied. The current source is connected to the rails at their base, so the current flows, as it were, in pursuit of the projectile and the magnetic field created around the current-carrying conductors is completely concentrated behind the conductive projectile. AT this case The projectile is a current-carrying conductor placed in a perpendicular magnetic field created by the rails. According to all the laws of physics, the Lorentz force acts on the projectile, directed in the direction opposite to the rail connection point and accelerating the projectile. A number of serious problems are associated with the manufacture of a railgun - the current pulse must be so powerful and sharp that the projectile would not have time to evaporate (after all, a huge current flows through it!), but an accelerating force would arise that accelerates it forward. Therefore, the material of the projectile and the rail should have the highest possible conductivity, the projectile should have as little mass as possible, and the current source should have as much power and lower inductance as possible. However, the peculiarity of the rail accelerator is that it is capable of accelerating ultra-small masses to super high speeds. In practice, rails are made of oxygen-free copper coated with silver, aluminum bars are used as projectiles, a battery of high-voltage capacitors is used as a power source, and before entering the rails, they try to give the projectile as much initial speed as possible, using pneumatic or gunshot guns.

In addition to mass accelerators, electromagnetic weapons include sources of powerful electromagnetic radiation such as lasers and magnetrons.

Everyone knows the laser. It consists of a working body in which an inverse population of quantum levels by electrons is created during a shot, a resonator for increasing the range of photons inside the working body and a generator that will create this very inverse population. In principle, an inverse population can be created in any substance, and in our time it is easier to say what lasers are NOT made of. Lasers can be classified according to the working fluid: ruby, CO2, argon, helium-neon, solid-state (GaAs), alcohol, etc., according to the mode of operation: pulsed, cw, pseudo-continuous, can be classified according to the number of quantum levels used: 3-level , 4-level, 5-level. Lasers are also classified according to the frequency of the generated radiation - microwave, infrared, green, ultraviolet, x-ray, etc. The laser efficiency usually does not exceed 0.5%, but now the situation has changed - semiconductor lasers (solid-state lasers based on GaAs) have an efficiency of over 30% and today can have an output power of up to 100 (!) W, i.e. comparable to powerful "classical" ruby or CO2 lasers. In addition, there are gas-dynamic lasers that are least similar to other types of lasers. Their difference is that they are capable of producing a continuous beam of enormous power, which allows them to be used for military purposes. In essence, a gas-dynamic laser is a jet engine, in which there is a resonator perpendicular to the gas flow. The incandescent gas leaving the nozzle is in a state of population inversion. It is worth adding a resonator to it - and a multi-megawatt photon flux will fly into space.

Microwave guns - the main functional unit is the magnetron - a powerful source of microwave radiation. The disadvantage of microwave guns is their excessive danger of use even compared to lasers - microwave radiation is well reflected from obstacles, and in the case of shooting indoors, literally everything inside will be exposed to radiation! In addition, powerful microwave radiation is deadly for any electronics, which must also be taken into account.

And why, in fact, precisely the "gauss gun", and not Thompson disk launchers, railguns or beam weapons?

The fact is that of all types of electromagnetic weapons, it is the gauss gun that is the easiest to manufacture. In addition, it has a fairly high efficiency compared to other electromagnetic shooters and can operate at low voltages.

At the next level of complexity are induction accelerators - Thompson disk throwers (or transformers). Their operation requires slightly higher voltages than conventional Gaussians, then, perhaps, lasers and microwaves are the most complex, and in the very last place is the railgun, which requires expensive structural materials, impeccable calculation and manufacturing accuracy, an expensive and powerful source energy (a battery of high-voltage capacitors) and many other expensive things.

In addition, the gauss gun, despite its simplicity, has an incredibly large scope for design solutions and engineering research - so this direction is quite interesting and promising.