French Naval Delegation Visited US Navy Electromagnetic Railgun Facility

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Naval Forces News - USA, France
 
 
 
French Naval Delegation Visited US Navy Electromagnetic Railgun Facility
 
French military officials touring Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), received briefings on Navy technical programs from the electromagnetic railgun to the hypervelocity projectile, Sept. 4. The event, and recent British Navy visits, supports the Chief of Naval Operations' Sailing Directions to operate forward in new and flexible ways with access to strategic maritime crossroads.
     
Dr. Chris Lloyd, High Energy Laser Lethality Lead at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), briefs French Rear Adm. Christian Dugué, Naval Technical Director for France's Defense Procurement Agency, at the NSWCDD Laser Lethality Lab during the French delegation's NSWCDD visit. Lloyd explained the importance of rigorous modeling and laboratory testing against target materials to ensure high energy laser systems are built that meet the requirements of the warfighter once fielded. NSWCDD is leveraging its knowledge of electromagnetic launchers, hypervelocity projectiles, and directed energy weapons, in addition to its established core capabilities in complex warfare systems development and integration to incorporate electric weapons technology into existing and future fighting forces and platforms. (Photo by U.S. Navy)
Dr. Chris Lloyd, High Energy Laser Lethality Lead at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), briefs French Rear Adm. Christian Dugué, Naval Technical Director for France's Defense Procurement Agency, at the NSWCDD Laser Lethality Lab during the French delegation's NSWCDD visit. Lloyd explained the importance of rigorous modeling and laboratory testing against target materials to ensure high energy laser systems are built that meet the requirements of the warfighter once fielded. NSWCDD is leveraging its knowledge of electromagnetic launchers, hypervelocity projectiles, and directed energy weapons, in addition to its established core capabilities in complex warfare systems development and integration to incorporate electric weapons technology into existing and future fighting forces and platforms. (Photo by U.S. Navy)
     
"Our forward presence will build on and strengthen our partnerships and alliances where sea lanes, resources, and vital U.S. interests intersect," states the CNO Sailing Directions regarding the Navy’s contribution and characteristics over the next 10-15 years .

French Rear Adm. Jean-Philippe Chaineau, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Plans and Programs, and French Rear Adm. Christian Dugué, Naval Technical Director for the Defense Procurement Agency, led the delegation which toured NSWCDD, including human systems integration, directed energy weapons, electromagnetic environmental effects, and electromagnetic railgun facilities.

"Working together with our allies during the science and technology as well as the RDT&E (research, development, test and evaluation) phases can lead to many benefits such as program improvements, cost and time savings plus enhanced interoperability," said Jed Ryan, NSWCDD International Partnering Office lead.

The French military officials also toured the gun line at the Navy's Potomac River Test Range — 715 acres of land and a 169-square-nautical-mile water area that stretches along the lower 51 miles of the Potomac River. They saw how Dahlgren's gun test facility evolved and expanded to include numerous scientific and response-force missions serving all branches of the United States armed forces.
     
John Perry, Business Development Director at BAE Systems, briefed us on the Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) during Sea-Air-Space 2014 Naval Exposition