The Student Room Group

PHOTOS of Chinese ‘secret railgun’ mounted on ship emerge online

Looks like the PLAN might be about to get themselves a shiny new weapons system...
People on here keep prattling on about the 'threat from the east' yet they always seem to get it wrong - it is not so much Russia as China who presents the up and coming threat to global peace. With China on track - in all key fields - to over take the US as the predominant superpower in the not so distant future and with the US unlikely to relinquish its stranglehold on world hegemony without a fight I do see the likelihood for a bloody bout of fisticuffs between these two.




The Chinese military may be about to test a railgun at sea. A weapons system of a suitable size has been mounted on one of China’s landing ships, along with several containers of what may be relevant equipment.
Photos of the Type 072 III ship ‘Haiyangshan’ of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) with a suspected railgun on its bow were published by Chinese defense watchers on January 31, reports the blog Navy Recognition. The time and location of the images were not detailed, but report suggest they may have been taken in the Wuhan province in central China.

The 119.5-meter Type 072III-class landing ships usually carry a H/PJ76F twin 37mm gun system on the bow. The photos of the ‘Haiyangshan’ show a different weapon: a turreted and partially covered gun that has some similarities with a railgun developed by BAE Systems. Its barrel has a larger diameter about half the length closer to the turret and a smaller diameter for the half closer to the business end.

At least three containers, possibly with electronic equipment and generators to provide extra power for the suspected railgun, were seen on the ship. If proven true, China could become the first nation to test a railgun weapons system at sea.
A railgun uses a powerful electrical current to accelerate a metal projectile along a path of conductive rails to supersonic speed. The technology could replace gunpowder-based munitions as large-caliber artillery, but has some drawbacks, including high power requirements and rapid wear of the barrel, which has to withstand high temperatures and stress during the shooting process.
The US was long considered the frontrunner in the race to advance the technology. Last year, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) demonstrated a multi-shot salvo test in which two projectiles were fired by a railgun in quick succession to prove the weapon can sustain a high rate of fire. But the future of the American EMRG program, which was supposed to produce a weapons system for the Zumwalt-class destroyers by 2020, is in question due to high costs.




https://www.rt.com/news/417695-china-navy-railgun-trial/
Except Russia is the one quietly undermining our democracy, while China has been a reliable ally, and a good source of investment and trade in these economically uncertain times.
Reply 2
Original post by FriendlyPenguin
Except Russia is the one quietly undermining our democracy, while China has been a reliable ally, and a good source of investment and trade in these economically uncertain times.


I'm not sure if you're joking or just know nothing about China...?
Original post by Napp
I'm not sure if you're joking or just know nothing about China...?


I know a lot about China, having been employed at one of their shill brigades for years.
Reply 4
Original post by FriendlyPenguin
I know a lot about China, having been employed at one of their shill brigades for years.


:colonhash:
It partly comes down to geography why the UK is far more concerned with Russia than the PRC. The PLAAF doesn't fly aircraft in close proximity to European nation's airspace, deploy ships in nearby waters etc.
Of course, nations like Japan, the ROK, ROC etc have every right to be concerned with the Chinese expansion.

Realistically, the biggest threat the UK faces from the PRC directly is cyber espionage & malware attacks.
Reply 6
Original post by Tempest II
It partly comes down to geography why the UK is far more concerned with Russia than the PRC. The PLAAF doesn't fly aircraft in close proximity to European nation's airspace, deploy ships in nearby waters etc.
Of course, nations like Japan, the ROK, ROC etc have every right to be concerned with the Chinese expansion.

Realistically, the biggest threat the UK faces from the PRC directly is cyber espionage & malware attacks.


For nations that actually have the ability to militarily rival the status quo though - The only one is the PLA.
Russia might enjoy buzzing our airspace but its not exactly a threat of any significant magnitude is it? Whilst building a forward Anti-ship missile battery and military bases along the 10 dash line...
Moved to International

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