Tactical applications for electromagnetic launchers

The major advantage of electromagnetic (EM) propulsion, at least for the anti-armor mission, is the ability to reach higher impact velocities where the lethality can be much greater for fixed energy delivered to the breech. We describe a methodology we are developing for optimizing EM gun systems for tactical applications. To demonstrate the methodology we provide an analysis which describes the most effective configuration for a large-bore tactical gun firing monolithic tungsten long-rod penetrators against semi-infinite rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). The criterion used in estimating system effectiveness is maximizing target penetration while minimizing launch energy.<>