"Project closed": the US Army abandoned the development of the SLRC ultra-long-range cannon

The US Army is shutting down one of the most ambitious projects in recent years. According to the web resource "The Drive", the Americans abandoned the further development of the Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC) large-caliber ultra-long-range cannon.

The SLRC project closes, for the next, 2022 fiscal year, the US defense budget does not provide for the allocation of funds under this program. Instead of developing a long-range cannon, the Pentagon intends to spend funds on broader research in the field of long-range weapons and ammunition.

Within the framework of the funds already allocated for this year, the US Army plans to complete R&D on the SLRC components and that's it, the program is closed. The developed components can be used in other designs.

The development of the Strategic Long Range Cannon long-range cannon became known in 2018. The task of the developers was to create a weapon capable of shooting at a range of 1000 nautical miles. The caliber of the gun, the dimensions and weight of the artillery mount were not disclosed, but the system had to be transferred along the roads with a heavy wheeled tractor Oshkosh M1070 HETS (8x8) with a three-axle semi-trailer and a military transport aviation... The calculation of the gun was planned for eight people.

A special active-rocket projectile with a two-stage jet engine was developed for the gun. The cost of one shot should not have exceeded 400-500 thousand dollars. According to the plans of the military, tests of the first prototype of the gun were to take place in 2023.

In March of this year, it was decided to suspend the program pending the conclusion of the project from the US National Academy of Sciences; later, the military closed the program altogether.

Comments

[Alien From]

From the photo, some kind of push-pull ...

[Kars]

I wonder why bother to develop such a thing?

[OgnennyiKotik]

I think because of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. Plus the elaboration of technologies.

[Brturin]

Quote: OgnennyiKotik

Plus the elaboration of technologies.

Maybe there was a desire to drag someone into this race, the states are doing, we need to try ... apparently no one pecked, it remains "the study of technologies"

[Albert1988]

Quote: Kars

I wonder why bother to develop such a thing?

When they got used to a very large amount of money, the temptation arose to work on something "such", which would not directly give a practical, direct exit, but "sooooo interesting", this prodigy is one of them ...

[Krasnodar]

Accuracy is cheap. Probably

[RVAPatriot]

It was already like this, they step on the rake

[Vadim237]

Well, this is Dora for sure.

[OgnennyiKotik]

Initially a very controversial project. Without fundamental advantages over short-medium-range missile systems. Especially after the United States left the INF Treaty.

[Vadim237]

MRBM missiles are significantly more expensive than an artillery shell - a missile.

[OgnennyiKotik]

Yes? And what are the prices for them? Will you sound?

[Vadim237]

The projectile will cost up to a million - and the MRBM is at least ten million.

[OgnennyiKotik]

A projectile flying 1800 km? It will differ from the MRBM only in the first stage, everything else will be the same. Only even more compact, more exposed to stress, many times more difficult. At the same time, the power is incomparable and simply not attainable. This projectile will cost millions, and this is still without a weapon.

[Slon1978]

This is unconditional. But compare the payload of a Caliber missile and this projectile. The difference will be about an order of magnitude. And then recalculate the cost of 1 kg of combat load :)

[bk0010]

Quote: Slon1978

This is unconditional.

Generally not a fact: to the cost of a projectile (controlled and active-reactive, by the way, the usual one is useless at such distances), one must also add the cost of the gun divided by the number of shots before replacing the barrel (65 shots at a range of 120 km for a Parisian gun, for example).

[Albert1988]

Quote: OgnennyiKotik

Initially a very controversial project. Without fundamental advantages over short-medium-range missile systems. Especially after the United States left the INF Treaty.

But how many exclamations there were on the site about some "incredible prospects" of this project ... And the result was predictable even then ...

[t-12]

Without fundamental advantages over short-medium-range missile systems.

The plus is obvious: a small projectile is more difficult to detect than a rocket. Those. the cannon is needed for a "sudden devastating blow".

Range - 1000 km. This means that the entire coast of China gets from Taiwan and South Korea. And the whole center of Russia goes from Ukraine and Estonia.

[Alf]

Quote: t-12

The plus is obvious: a small projectile is more difficult to detect than a rocket.

And it is difficult to crush with interference due to the lack of the presence of electronics in the projectile.

[Albert1988]

Quote: Alf

And it is difficult to crush with interference due to the lack of the presence of electronics in the projectile.

Quote: Alf

The plus is obvious: a small projectile is more difficult to detect than a rocket. Those. the cannon is needed for a "sudden devastating blow".

On one condition - if such a gun, in principle, can be made, otherwise the range will be much less, or the accuracy is + - kilometer ...
Which, apparently, began to emerge in the course of the project ...

[t-12]

or accuracy + - kilometer ...

This is not essential when the energy in the projectile is under a hundred kilotons. And the covering of Moscow / Beijing will not be one shell, but a dozen shells. And the projectiles can be guided by GPS.

[Albert1988]

Quote: t-12

This is not essential when the energy in the projectile is under a hundred kilotons. And the covering of Moscow / Beijing will not be one shell, but a dozen shells. And the projectiles can be guided by GPS.

This is a big question, how many kilotons were planned in the projectile, what this projectile should have been. For a long time, the Americans positioned it precisely as a blank for pinpoint target destruction, such as hitting a specific building, etc.

[Alf]

Quote: Albert1988

Quote: Alf

And it is difficult to crush with interference due to the lack of the presence of electronics in the projectile.

Quote: Alf

The plus is obvious: a small projectile is more difficult to detect than a rocket. Those. the cannon is needed for a "sudden devastating blow".

On one condition - if such a gun, in principle, can be made, otherwise the range will be much less, or the accuracy is + - kilometer ...
Which, apparently, began to emerge in the course of the project ...

Colleague Albert! The second quote is not mine!

[Albert1988]

I saw))) I beg your pardon - by mistake a quote from a friend t-12 inserted

[Alf]

Quote: Albert1988

I saw))) I beg your pardon - by mistake a quote from a friend t-12 inserted

There is no bazaar, bro!

[TerraSandera]

Reich grandchildren lobbied in the United States for the creation of Dora of the 21st century?

[Alf]

Quote: TerraSandera

Reich grandchildren lobbied in the United States for the creation of Dora of the 21st century?

So before in the US Army there was a similar crap, Atomic Annie was called.

And, funny as it may seem, the gun was developed on the basis of a German project.

[TerraSandera]

Interesting. But 1000 km is somehow fantastic. Will it shoot rockets? So this is no longer a tool, in fact. Well, in principle, it won't. But they wanted something ... It was based on something, except for a drink

[Albert1988]

And we had a "capacitor" and an "eye", but only the range was much more realistic there)))

[Thrifty]

Where is DAPRA looking? To finance the project for the next half century, to buy such grotesques for the division tomorrow, that is, guns ! Ideally, have a couple of hundred of them in service, and oblige the "allies" to buy a dozen of them immediately

[Vadim237]

"Within the framework of the funds already allocated for this year, the US Army plans to complete R&D on the SLRC components and that's it, the program is closed. The developed components can be used in other developments." This means that the program was simply renamed, but the project for creating such a weapon was not canceled.

[Albert1988]

This means that instead of creating such a tool, they will study the issues of the fundamental possibility of its creation, that is, they will identify the main obstacles to implementation and look for ways to solve them. That is, work for another 10 years, or even for all 20 ...

[Jacket in stock]

No, well, cho.
The guys received money for 3 years.
At the same time, we looked at the effectiveness of such a system. What it was 100 years ago does not have to work today.
Apparently they came to the result that at the current level of technology, rockets are simpler and cheaper.

[YOUR]

The development of this gun began long before the United States left the INF Treaty. Active-reactive projectile with two stages. In fact, the cannon was a launching device for a rocket, but it did not fall under the treaty. Not a rocket. At present, the need for such a weapon has disappeared from the INF Treaty. Why if you can deploy the same ground-based Tomahawks or something newer, more destructive with a short flight time.

[Jacket in stock]

Quote: YOUR

Why if you can deploy the same Tomahawks

Well, for example, they suddenly learned to do something that the shells suddenly became really cheaper than rockets. Everything flows, technology changes.

[YOUR]

And it could be

[Albert1988]

Quote: Jacket in stock

Well, for example, they suddenly learned to do something that the shells suddenly became really cheaper than rockets. Everything flows, technology changes.

Or wanted to learn ...

[Shiden]

In general, the brilliant engineer Professor Bul worked on long-range art systems back in the 70s and 80s, although the Mossad liquidated the wrong guys, and all the current developments of barrel artillery originate from Professor Bul, who had a dream to throw satellites into small orbit with the help of cannons.

[decimalegio]

Gerald Bull - artillery genius

[Disant]

originate from Professor Bul, who had a dream to throw satellites into small orbit with the help of cannons.

will burn from friction immediately after the shot

[Albert1988]

Quote: Disant

will burn from friction immediately after the shot

And uranium?

[Disant]

so Jules Verne calculated everything - 11200 m / s starting speed))))
Bull accelerated the projectile up to 3600m / s, plus you need to add - you need to go into orbit from the first space - 7900m / s. almost Jules Verne.
uranium shell-shield will not evaporate?

[Albert1988]

Quote: Disant

so Jules Verne miscalculated everything

Well, now the counting rhymes are more powerful, and the projectile in this case is much smaller)))

Quote: Disant

uranium shell-shield will not evaporate?

Shouldn't at all. But the question is different - what will happen with the filling of such a projectile? The satellite is fragile ...

[Disant]

Well, the idea itself, that such an exciting brain was not realized by anyone - it means they cheated - either the shield will evaporate, or the gun is unrealizable (regardless of the cost, weight and length), or maybe both.
.
but Americans have a lot of money - they should try

[Albert1988]

Quote: Disant

Well, the idea itself, that such an exciting brain was not realized by anyone - it means they cheated - either the shield will evaporate, or the gun is unrealizable (regardless of the cost), or maybe both.

In fact, both - if the projectile does not evaporate, then nothing inside it will survive, and the gun itself is also essentially unrealizable at the current technological stage, at least.

Quote: Disant

but Americans have a lot of money - they should try

But that's for sure)))

[Nikolaevich I]

Well ... they scared ... and decided that it was enough ... But we were not scared anyway! Hundreds of folk experts from VO have together proved to each other that this is another typical US one: 1. "sawing the dough" ... 2. "purple bullshit" ... (or "gray-brown-crimson"?) ... 3. "Well ... stupid!" ... 4.Well ... wait! ... 5. "Ikhtamnet" ... (brains means)! 6. ,, "Buratino" with "Malka" they miss! ,, ... 7. Cheburashkas with a blue ... land mine .....! - And they did not panic, deciding: if there was a "big booze" ahead, then pour the last "newbie"! So so ... SLRC-time! ... Rаlе gun-two! What's next on the list?

[Albert1988]

Quote: Nikolaevich I

So so ... SLRC-time! ... Rаlе gun-two! What's next on the list?

The rail has also moved from the category of practical development back to the category of theoretical ones.

[rocket757]

The economy must be economical !!!
Apparently, they will cut more than one or two projects ... a little more.

[decimalegio]

The supergun myth always boggles the mind

[Max PV]

Actually, this is not very good for us, since it means that someone smart (s) has turned up in the Pentagon or somewhere else in the American circles of decision-makers on financing military developments, he or they have now begun to put things in order in this area. , closing the sawn, fantastic, unnecessary, unpromising, fundamentally unrealizable (underline the necessary) projects, like this cross between a donkey and a goat, or a railgun. But in the economy, including the military, the law of conservation operates in the same way - if it has gone somewhere, then it has arrived somewhere. And no matter how it turns out that by saving on just such miracles, the US Army will increase funding for things that are more useful to itself.

[Albert1988]

As an option, there was simply not enough money, so they cut everything that can be cut. And they will throw at something more practical - hypersound, for example. Otherwise, they began to develop hypersound earlier than Russia and China, and as a result, they lagged behind both ...

[Castro Ruiz]

The title of the article is not entirely true.
The project is not closed and is only temporarily redrawn.
But according to moem, it is a hopeless project.

[Albert1988]

Quote: CastroRuiz

The project is not closed and is only temporarily redrawn.

It is not renamed, but reprofiled - instead of the practical development of a specific product (superguns), they will investigate the very possibility of its creation and what technologies are needed for this. This is a fundamentally different work and much longer.

[Peaceful SEO]

With a cannon shell for a thousand miles? And how did they aim? Just north or south?