Prototype Weapon

[Cruel2BEkind]

Can 'Metal Storm' Technology be used in small 100-130mm cannons used on ships?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFjGbOyd2ek

[heuhen]

well yes, but i think it will have a disadvantage on big caliber cannons. but at smaller caliber self defenc weapons they can be a god weapon.

But on a naval vessel I think this weapon technology can possibly be used in a type of a ASW mortar system.

[TimothyC]

Metal Storm stuff just doesn't make sense in the real world. It's main advantage is the high instantaneous rate of fire, but for sustained fire you need to have to start accounting for barrel swap times, which are not going to be pretty. With AAA the main thing you want to do is throw larger rounds down range, not more smaller rounds. If you want a really advanced gun and you are not including AAA as a main mission, I'd look at something like VGAS (Vertical Gun for Advanced Ships).

The biggest knock against Metal Storm is that the largest gun they've had a contract for is functionally a 5 round shotgun. It's not something to inspire confidence.

[klagldsf]

Can 'Metal Storm' Technology be used in small 100-130mm cannons used on ships?

Sure it can - but in addition to what Tim said, the RoF advantage Metal Storm has over more conventional, high-RoF guns (like Mk 45) all but disappears at that scale. Especially when you factor in any weight penalty, assuming you're just scaling up current Metal Storm models.

That's not to say that the idea of an "electric gun" is dumbfounded - in fact that's the idea behind a railgun and coilgun (or even better, a multi-stage coilgun). What Metal Storm really does is add unnecessary complication to those ideas, basically making a Nordenfelt coil-gun.

Why? Because it's cool, probably.

[Colosseum]

This is the only rapid-firing gun you need on a ship.

[heuhen]

silly you, the red army with nuclear missiles is all you need.

[Master Chief Brown]

This might have potential on the naval scene. Naval ships could use it to repel possible boarders: a scenario unlikely in this day and age, but something the USN still trains for. Put one of those at each of the hatches leading inside, as well as positioned to sweep the forecastle and stern, and any boarders attempting to gain entry are going to be a rapidly disintegrating cloud of atoms.
Right now, with the technology we have available to us, I don't think it would be good in a CIWS capacity. 20mm is about the smallest you can get and still have a reasonable chance at knocking down an ASM on final approach (CIWS, especially Phalanx or Goalkeeper, is never relied upon by ship commanders to stop inbounds). The complexities of loading it, as well as attempting to knock down something around the speed of sound with what are glorified lead kamikazes sent out in rapid succession mean that a gatling based weapon is still better than Metal Storm.