China’s ‘supergun’ to be fitted to new destroyers

BEIJING is boasting it has launched two new ships that will soon carry a revolutionary new weapon into battle — an advanced cannon that swaps explosives for powerful magnets.

BEIJING’s determination to ‘leapfrog’ the United States in defence technology has taken another jump forward, with the launch of two new ships said to be capable of mounting a deadly new weapon system.

Earlier this year China surprised the world when it appeared to confirm speculation that an unusual prototype gun seen aboard a military transport ship was a deadly new electromagnetic rail gun.

The state-run Global Times has tied this revelation to the launch of two new large warships earlier this week. Two Type 055 destroyers hit the water for the first time in Dalian, in the province of Liaoning, on Tuesday.

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The Global Times quoted state-approved military commentator Song Zhongping as saying the new ships will be armed with the new weapons.

“The Type 055 is the best fit for China’s future electromagnetic gun, for the all-electric warship could meet the weapon’s huge power supply demand,” he reportedly said.

If true, it represents a major stride forward in Beijing’s rapid expansion and modernisation of its navy.

A close-up of the apparent railgun aboard the Chinese landing ship Haiyangshan.

RAPID DEVELOPMENT

Pictures began circulating on social media of an unusually shaped cannon positioned precariously at the very front of a particularly unsuited ship early this year.

The vessel was later identified as the Chinese Type 072 III landing ship Haiyangshan — designed to carry men and tanks, not enormous guns.

Beijing’s official mouthpieceThe People’s Daily Online then published an article reporting speculation the unusually large single-barrelled weapon was an electromagnetic rail gun.

Military analysts say the modular nature of the landing ship, and its enormous cargo carrying capacity, likely made it ideal to test the enormous new gun and its heavy accompanying equipment — such as generators and battery packs.

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Instead of explosives, it uses powerful magnets to sling warheads down its barrel and into the air. It is calculated this will enable larger warheads to be fired much faster — and further — than traditional cannons.

Once fully operational, such guns could sink ships, attack land targets — and even destroy aircraft and missiles in flight — at ranges and accuracy normally expected from missiles.

“Though the US has been openly developing electromagnetic guns for years, it doesn’t mean that China is far behind in this field, as the latter [usually] keeps quiet about its progress due to secrecy concerns,” military commentator Chen Shuoren told the Science and Technology Daily component of the People’s Daily in February.

The two new Type 055 destroyers China says will be armed with next-generation electromagnetic rail guns.

TYPE 055 DESTROYERS

The two new 13,000 ton destroyers will undergo more work and testing before likely being accepted into PLAN service late next year.

The 180m long ships are designed to accompany and protect China’s new fleet of aircraft carriers. Beijing declared its first carrier — Liaoning — combat capable earlier this year. Its second carrier, the first it has built itself, was launched in May.

The Type 055 destroyers carry 112 vertical launch modules capable of housing a variety of interceptor and surface-attack missiles. It also has an extensive array of radars and sonars to detect air and submarine threats.

Its hangar can accommodate two helicopters.

It is unlikely they will have the new railguns at that point. Pictures of the ships at the Dalian dockyards show them fitted with the more conventional explosive-powered H/PJ-30 130mm dual-purpose cannon.

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But it is possible the vessels have been designed for these guns — and their ammunition stores — to be easily replaced by the power-hungry railguns and their new projectiles.

China’s state-run news service Global Times says the People’s Liberation Army Navy plans to commission up to 10 of the big destroyers.

The first of the class was launched in 217. The latest launch brings the total number in the water so far to four.

“Launching four 10,000-ton class missile destroyers in about one year shows China’s remarkable shipbuilding capability, and compared to other major naval powers, including the US, China’s speed is the fastest,” the Global Times quotes a retired naval officer as saying.