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| China Tests Hypersonic Bullets That It Claims Can Launch Up To 4000m Per Second |
Beijing - China is one of the countries with a very rapid military power development. The development of China's military power is proven by presenting various qualified defense equipment. China conducts a series of research and development on the defense equipment it makes.
Recently a research team from the army medical center in Chongqing fired a high-speed 5mm steel bullet. China's testing of the hypersonic bullet was carried out by firing at a young boar that was sedated to understand the potential impact of hypersonic weapons on the human body.
“Bullets are fired into each pig's thigh at about 13,000 feet per second (fps) (or 4000 meters per second) 11 times the speed of sound. The researchers found that hypersonic bullets left large, crater-like wounds in the flesh but did not penetrate the skin and flesh as 'solids' like traditional shots. Indirect shot kills the pig; However, the shock wave from the bullet caused severe injuries throughout the body, as researchers published in Acta Armamentarii, an official journal run by the China Ordnance Society, on Aug. 22.” explained the Eurasian times.
According to the autopsy, the bullet penetrated the thigh at a speed of 1,000 to 3,000 meters per second. However, at 4,000 meters per second, it failed to penetrate and left a large wound cavity at the point of impact. The muzzle velocity of most weapons is lower than 1,200 meters per second 3 times the speed of sound and in this case, the bullet penetrates the skin and flesh as a solid.
However, at hypersonic speeds, the temperature of the bullet can approach the melting point, with the bullet and flesh turning into a liquid and a gas upon impact. Therefore, the physical process of collision in the case of a hypersonic bullet needs to be described as fluid mechanics, the researchers said.
Jianmin and his colleagues say more animal experiments will be conducted. It targets the head, chest, abdomen, and other body parts with more complex structures.
According to the team, while targets made of soap can also produce similar results, simulating bullet motion and energy transfer processes in soft tissue, animals are needed to understand the lethal characteristics of projectiles on biological targets. It is still unknown whether China is developing hypersonic firearms.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is known to have funded various weapons projects that can fire small projectiles at speeds exceeding Mach 5. For example, the PLA Navy is developing rail guns for ship defense systems that can fire hypersonic projectiles to intercept drones, missiles or torpedoes. enemy.
The railgun is an electromagnetic weapon capable of firing bullets at Mach 7, seven times the speed of sound. In 2018, China conducted the world's first open-sea test with a railgun mounted on a warship. The railgun fires a reported 25 kilogram projectile at a speed of Mach 7.3 and is capable of hitting targets 250 kilometers away. Chinese scientists are also working on a hypersonic missile that can be launched from a railgun and can search for targets, the EurAsian Times reports.
Even the US worked on railguns for decades before discontinuing the railgun program in July 2021 to free up resources for hypersonic weapons research. It lags behind China and Russia, which have acquired operational hypersonic weapons.
However, it was not only budget constraints that led the Pentagon to discontinue the railgun program, but also challenges related to wear and tear and energy consumption. After every 20 shots, the gun barrel needs to be replaced due to wear and other problems.
Even Japan has decided to develop an electromagnetic weapon system to deal with the threat of hypersonic weapons deployed by its neighbors such as China, North Korea, and Russia.
A total of 6.5 billion yen ($56 million) has been allocated in the 2022 fiscal budget to develop prototypes of railgun technology for military use. The system is expected to be operational after 2025.