Summary of experimental results using the REMGUN III HPG facility

As part of the ongoing research program into electromagnetic (EM) guns at the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE), work has been carried out on several railgun barrel/switch systems which have been installed in an enclosed 100-yd range. Using the REMGUN III 6.7-MJ HPG (homopolar generator) pulsed power supply, explosive and mechanical commutating opening switches have been built and tested. This includes the IRD railswitch, the LYNEX linear explosive switch (marks 1 and 2), and the Royal Ordnance gas-operated switch. The first three were fired with a 25-mm-square bore gun using solid armatures, while the fourth was incorporated into a combined conventional/EM round-bore plasma-driven gun. A description of these switches is presented together with a summary of results and diagnostics used