Development of a 150-kW, Battery Powered, Rapid Capacitor Charger for a Small Railgun in Burst Mode Operation at 3 RPS

A battery powered rapid charger for the capacitor bank of a small, low velocity railgun is being developed to allow burst mode operation at 3 RPS in a compact system. Recent improvements in railgun efficiency have reduced the charge voltage requirement from 2.3 to 2.0 kV, thereby reducing the average charger power from 200 to 150 kW. The goal is to charge a 15-mF capacitor bank to 2.0 kV in 200 ms to allow countermeasure deployment in bursts of several rounds at a rate of 3 RPS (rounds per second). One module can currently produce 58 kW so three modules are required to meet the goal. Methods of increasing the module output to 75 kW so that only two modules are required are explored.