Dual-propellant configuration barrel rocket gun

Abstract

The invention relates to a double-propellant configuration barrel rocket gun, in particular to a smoothbore barrel rocket gun using a double-propellant configuration rocket projectile, and aims to solve the problem that a large-power weapon is long in barrel and large in dead weight due to the fact that killing power of a traditional light weapon and a medium and small caliber gun is limited by barrel bore pressure at present. And the practical requirements that the weapon hit precision is superior to or at least not lower than that of an existing traditional barrel gun and the weapon and ammunition cost does not exceed that of the existing traditional barrel gun can be met. The main technical advantages of the invention are concentrated in the field of medium-and-small-caliber and limited-range direct aiming gun and gun weapons, and can be applied to infantry light weapons, such as pistols (individual self-defense weapons), submachine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles and light and heavy machine guns, and medium-and-small-caliber direct aiming artillery, such as tank cannons, antitank cannons, air defense cannons and aviation machine cannons.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of new-concept military light weapons and new-concept barreled artillery, and specifically relates to a double-propellant configuration smoothbore barreled rocket gun and a principle concept of a small- and medium-caliber barreled rocket gun that combine traditional rocket shells and traditional fixed-gun shell technologies. Background Art

[0002] Guns and artillery are still the most basic weapons in modern warfare. Today's gun (artillery) technology is still based on traditional fixed-loaded guns and artillery shells with rifled firing methods. However, traditional fixed-loaded guns and artillery shells have inherent disadvantages such as the utilization rate of the propellant being restricted by the length of the barrel, the large recoil after firing, high requirements for the material of the gun barrel, the heavy weight of the barrel, the complex manufacturing process, and the (light weapon bullet) shell accounting for too large a proportion of the ammunition cost. In theory, the flight speed and range of rockets have nothing to do with the length of the barrel, and the recoil is theoretically zero. The material and processing requirements for the launch tube are greatly reduced, which can effectively reduce the weight and manufacturing cost of guns and artillery. However, traditional rockets have the inherent disadvantage of low initial velocity, which leads to poor external ballistic accuracy. At the same time, the low utilization efficiency of traditional rocket propellants leads to high ammunition costs.

[0003] There have been similar studies in history on the use of rockets to replace traditional fixed ammunition barreled guns. The current known rocket gun concepts mainly include a rocket pistol and rocket carbine called Gyrojet developed by the United States in the 1960s, but ultimately failed. One of the main reasons for its failure is that the speed of the projectile is too low when it leaves the barrel. Reports show that its bullet can only reach its maximum speed 15-20 meters after leaving the barrel, which means that the bullet has little lethality at the muzzle. The second is that the Gyrojet rocket gun has low accuracy, which is also one of the key reasons for its failure. It is reported that its dispersion at a distance of 15 meters has reached several centimeters. In terms of controlling the flight accuracy of the rocket warhead, the Gyrojet rocket gun uses spin stabilization instead of wing stabilization, and the bullet speed is too low when it leaves the barrel, which is the main reason for its poor accuracy.

[0004] The present invention proposes a wing-stabilized rocket projectile, which combines the traditional fixed-loaded bullet (shell) to provide the initial velocity of the launch, and uses a new double-propellant smoothbore barrel rocket gun / small and medium-caliber rocket launcher concept with a smoothbore barrel launch method with a built-in track. Its purpose is to solve the dilemma of heavy weight and limited performance improvement of traditional barreled light weapons and small and medium-caliber artillery, while meeting the requirements of weapon shooting accuracy and ammunition cost. It is expected to develop into a future development direction for ordinary light weapons such as pistols, submachine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, light and heavy machine guns, and small and medium-caliber direct-aiming artillery such as tank guns, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, and aviation machine guns. Summary of the invention

[0005] 1. Purpose of the Invention The invention discloses a dual-propellant configuration barrel rocket gun, which is a smoothbore medium-caliber barrel weapon concept using a dual-propellant structure with a wing-stabilized rocket. The purpose is to solve the problem that the lethality of conventional light weapons and medium-caliber guns is limited by the barrel pressure, resulting in a large barrel length of high-power weapons. It can also meet the practical requirements of weapons hitting accuracy being better than or at least not lower than existing conventional barrel guns, and the cost of weapons and ammunition not exceeding that of existing conventional barrel guns.

[0006] The lethality of traditional barreled guns and artillery is in conflict with the barrel weight, which is a problem that has caused some trouble for the development of infantry light weapons, automatic weapons, and vehicle-mounted artillery such as tank guns. Taking mainstream tank guns as an example, the caliber has jumped from 76mm / 85mm to 120mm / 125mm and even to more than 140mm after the war, and the barrel caliber has increased from 40.5 / 43 calibers to 52 / 55 calibers, resulting in the continuous increase in the weight and tonnage of tanks.

[0007] With the continuous efforts in materials, ammunition and propellant in modern gun technology, the potential of traditional barreled gun concepts has been basically limited. It is necessary to explore new firing principle concepts for gun weapons.

[0008] 2. Concept principle and technical solution The present invention provides a double-propellant configuration barrel rocket gun, which is a smoothbore barrel rocket gun using a double-propellant configuration rocket, wherein the double-propellant configuration rocket is a double-propellant configuration ammunition, which is composed of a rocket warhead (containing rocket propellant, hereinafter referred to as "the first propellant") coated with a low-charged traditional gun propellant (hereinafter referred to as "the second propellant"), and the barrel is fired using an X-shaped (or three-part) convex rail smoothbore gun / barrel. The rocket warhead is a small rocket with wing, and the traditional gun propellant is in a low-charge form, and is made of a caseless bullet or a high-temperature degradable plastic shell structure. The ammunition and firing principle are shown in the figure below. Figure 1 .

[0009] When a dual-propellant configuration rocket is fired, the firing pin hits the ammunition primer, first igniting the rocket propellant (first propellant) in the rocket warhead, and then igniting the traditional gun propellant (second propellant) covering the rocket warhead. The first propellant in the rocket warhead is ejected backward to seal the gap between the gun chamber and the barrel, while the low-charged second propellant explodes and pushes the warhead to accelerate forward instantly. Under the joint action of the first propellant and the second propellant, the rocket warhead is given an initial velocity from the bore in the shortest time. After the rocket warhead flies a short distance away from the launch barrel, the first propellant stops working, and the rocket projectile continues to fly by inertia. In the launch barrel, the rocket warhead slides along the X-shaped (or three-divided) convex track inside the barrel to ensure the accuracy of the internal ballistics. After flying out of the barrel, the wings provide flight stability to ensure the accuracy of the external ballistics. The main technical features of this concept are as follows: 2.1. Double-propellant rocket Traditional rockets have the inherent disadvantage of poor accuracy because of their low initial velocity. The rocket wings provide poor stability at low speeds (spin-stabilized rockets also have poor stability at low speeds), and the external ballistics will deviate in the initial flight phase, resulting in a greater deviation when the target is finally hit. The fin-stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot projectile used by modern tank smoothbore guns also uses wings for stabilization but can guarantee accuracy because the initial velocity of the bullet is high and the external ballistics are more stable.

[0010] At the same time, traditional rockets also have the inherent disadvantage of being more expensive than chamber-pressure guns of the same power because they accelerate too slowly. In theory, the rocket's propulsion efficiency can be maximized when the flow rate of the gas ejected from the rocket is equal to the speed of the rocket itself.

[0011] In addition, insufficient muzzle velocity will seriously affect the rocket's close-range lethality. Traditional rockets rely on their own rocket propellants to accelerate their flight, and the projectile has a low acceleration. The rocket needs to accelerate for a period of time to reach its maximum speed. In this way, the projectile's flight speed is insufficient when it flies out of the launch tube, which will seriously affect the lethality of the warhead at close range, that is, the kinetic energy of the warhead at the muzzle is the smallest.

[0012] This concept uses a dual-propellant configuration rocket. When fired, the solid rocket propellant (first propellant) in the rocket warhead ignites first, and then instantly ignites the traditional propellant (second propellant) coated outside the rocket warhead. The first propellant in the rocket warhead ejects backwards to seal the gap between the gun chamber and the barrel, while the second propellant with low charge explodes to accelerate the warhead forward. The second propellant coated outside the rocket warhead gives the rocket warhead a certain basic initial velocity and basic acceleration in a very short time. At the same time, the rocket warhead continues to accelerate the rocket to obtain the maximum speed by relying on its own first propellant. The first propellant can finish its work a short distance after the rocket warhead flies out of the barrel.

[0013] The second propellant gives the rocket an additional initial velocity in the barrel in a very short time, helping the rocket warhead's own propellant (the first propellant) to accelerate the rocket warhead, so that the rocket warhead can be accelerated to a very high speed when it leaves the barrel. This allows the rocket warhead to reach the maximum speed in the shortest time, which can not only ensure the accuracy of the warhead's external ballistic flight after it flies out of the barrel, but also ensure that the warhead has effective lethality at a close distance at the barrel / gun barrel.

[0014] At the same time, the rocket warhead with a higher muzzle velocity can greatly improve the propulsion efficiency of its own propellant (first propellant), and the rocket warhead can obtain a better flight speed and range. In turn, it means that the charge and performance requirements of the rocket warhead's propellant (first propellant) can be reduced, and the cost of the rocket can be effectively controlled.

[0016] Figure 1 It is a new concept barrel rocket gun dual-propellant configuration rocket design, with cross wings or three-divided wings. The markings in the figure are as follows: 1-high temperature degradable plastic guide cap, 2-high temperature degradable plastic shell, 3-first propellant (rocket propellant), 4-low charge gun propellant (second propellant), 5-fixed cross wing or three-divided wing, 6-primer, 7-three-divided wing configuration example, 8-smoothbore launch barrel with internal convex rail.

[0017] 2.2 Design of ammunition without a support structure At present, the world uses fin-stabilized smoothbore bullets that are propelled by traditional fixed propellants, such as fin-stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot bullets used in tank guns. Most of them need to use sabots to close the gap between the bullet and the barrel to ensure the normal operation of the projectile in the barrel. The sabot-structured bullet has little negative impact on tank shells, but it is disadvantageous for ordinary infantry light weapons, because the scattered sabots after leaving the barrel may accidentally injure the shooter and comrades.

[0018] The U.S. Army Ordnance Department conducted conceptual studies on "arrow" or "flechette" in the SPIW program (Special Purpose Individual Weapon), FRS program (Future Rifle System) and ACR program (Advanced Combat Rifle) between the 1960s and 1980s. The "arrow" or "flechette" uses the ballistic principle of wing stabilization, and relies on the sabot that separates after firing to seal the gunpowder gas in the barrel during firing, thereby pulling the warhead out of the barrel. However, the sabot that separates and scatters after flying out of the barrel poses a risk of endangering nearby friendly forces, so the "arrow" plan was eventually abandoned.

[0019] At the same time, the cartridge case structure also places higher demands on processing and manufacturing. If the cartridge case is not processed and assembled properly, it will deform and have poor airtightness, affecting the shooting accuracy and barrel life.

[0020] The gun warhead of this concept also uses fins for stabilization, but the warhead is a rocket warhead, and the rocket uses a double-propellant configuration. The rocket propellant gas ejected backward after the rocket is fired can seal the gap between the warhead and the barrel, so there is no need to use a sabot on the projectile, which avoids the risk of accidental injury after the sabot is fired, and also avoids various risks caused by the deformation of the sabot.

[0021] 2.3. Smoothbore barrel with raised rails The launch barrel of this concept adopts a smoothbore barrel with a convex rail. The rocket warhead slides along the X-shaped (or three-divided) convex rail in the gun / gun barrel to ensure the stability and accuracy of the projectile's internal ballistics.

[0022] Compared with smoothbore barrels without convex rails and using sabot structures on projectiles, smoothbore barrels with convex rails can provide better internal ballistic stability for projectiles when firing arrow-shaped projectiles with wing. This avoids the problems of sabot deformation affecting shooting accuracy and sabot deformation affecting barrel life.

[0023] The structure with the inner convex rail can also provide the launch barrel with better structural strength. Since the main function of the launch barrel (gun barrel / cannon barrel) in this concept is only the launch rail of the rocket warhead, the projectile itself is a powered rocket warhead, and the second propellant is a low charge, the launch barrel does not need to withstand excessive chamber pressure. The barrel's requirements for material properties are greatly reduced, and the barrel's service life can be greatly increased.

[0024] On the other hand, the barrel length of the gun in this concept is basically based on the speed at which the rocket warhead reaches a sufficient speed in the internal ballistics to stabilize the trajectory with its own wings (at this speed, the propulsion efficiency of the first propellant in the rocket warhead can also reach a high level). Therefore, the length of the barrel of the gun in this concept can be shortened, thereby greatly reducing the weight of the gun / gun. Even if the barrel is extended, the range is increased by increasing the internal ballistic flight speed of the rocket warhead. Since the smoothbore barrel of this concept does not need to withstand a high chamber pressure, its barrel weight will be much lighter than the traditional rifled / smoothbore barrel of the same length and caliber.

[0025] The concept of smoothbore barrel design with raised rails is as follows Figure 2 shown.

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a smoothbore firing barrel with a convex rail. The markings in the figure are as follows: 9-smoothbore barrel, 10-X-shaped or three-divided convex rail inside the barrel.

[0028] 2.4. Round cross-section bullet with guide cap (matched with round cross-section gun chamber with guide) or square cross-section bullet This concept rocket uses cross-shaped (or three-part) wings. In order to ensure that the rocket is in the correct position when loaded and does not collide with the X-shaped (or three-part) convex rail in the barrel / gun barrel, the ammunition uses a circular cross-section bullet with a guide cap at the front end (matching the guide shape at the end of the barrel convex rail) or a square cross-section bullet.

[0029] 2.4.1. Circular cross-section projectile with guide cap The main advantage of a round cross-section bullet is that it can adapt to a variety of feeding mechanisms and magazines, especially double-row feeding magazines, and there are no special requirements for the design of the feeding mechanism. However, a guide cap design is required at the head of the ammunition. The guide cap can be made of high-temperature degradable plastic. When launching, the rocket warhead will pass through the guide cap and enter the convex rail barrel, and the guide cap will be degraded by the high temperature of the gunpowder. At the same time, the guide cap can also be used to indicate the direction of the warhead to avoid the wrong direction of the ammunition when loading.

[0030] The use of round cross-section ammunition with guide caps is more suitable for the bolt rotation locking method (or similar radial delayed recoil rotary locking semi-free bolt), that is, the bolt gives a rotational torque to the tail of the ammunition at the last moment of loading the ammunition (when the guide cap at the head of the ammunition meets the guide section at the end of the barrel convex rail), which can make the ammunition enter the barrel more accurately and in the correct position, avoiding operational failures such as jamming. Figure 3 shown.

[0031] 2.4.2. Square cross-section projectile Based on the idea of ​​ensuring that the ammunition enters the chamber with absolute accuracy, this concept ammunition can also adopt a square cross-section. With the square cross-section ammunition design, the collision problem between the rocket wing and the barrel convex rail can be completely avoided when the ammunition enters the chamber. However, square cross-section ammunition firstly presents a high degree of difficulty in the design of the ammunition supply system, and the hidden danger of failure of the ammunition supply system due to square cross-section bullets cannot be completely ruled out. Secondly, square cross-section ammunition also needs to use a square cross-section gun barrel design, and when the ammunition enters the chamber, it may also cause more risks and hidden dangers due to the friction between the square ammunition and the square gun barrel, especially for high-speed and repeatedly loaded high-rate automatic weapons. Therefore, I personally prefer circular cross-section ammunition with guide caps in application, combined with circular cross-section gun barrels with guide shapes at the end of the barrel convex rail.

[0033] Figure 3 There are two types of ammunition: round-section ammunition with guide cap and square-section ammunition. The markings in the figure are as follows: 1-high-temperature degradable plastic guide cap, 2-high-temperature degradable plastic shell, 11-high-temperature degradable sealing cap for square-section ammunition (the square-section ammunition cap does not need to be made into a guide shape).

[0034] 2.5. Caseless or high temperature degradable plastic cartridge case configuration With the development of contemporary ammunition material technology, caseless ammunition technology is actually relatively mature. The main technical difficulties of caseless ammunition are actually concentrated on dealing with conventional high-charge and high-pressure gunpowder. Given that the traditional gun propellant (second propellant) in this concept only needs to use a low charge, it is relatively easy to adopt a caseless design or a high-temperature degradable plastic shell design. As a result, the weight of the ammunition can be greatly reduced, while the cost of the ammunition can be greatly reduced, and a considerable amount of metal shell resources can be saved during mass production.

[0035] 2.5.1 Caseless ammunition configuration In traditional caseless ammunition technology, the problem of ammunition spontaneous combustion is the main technical difficulty. Since the second propellant in this concept is only a low charge, it only provides additional acceleration for the rocket warhead, but does not provide all the flight energy of the projectile. At the same time, the barrel uses an internal large-void smoothbore barrel with a convex rail inside, so the high temperature of the gun barrel and slope bore caused by the second propellant can be effectively controlled. In theory, it is safer to use a caseless ammunition configuration, and the hidden dangers of ammunition spontaneous combustion can be effectively controlled.

[0036] The use of caseless ammunition can save a large amount of precious metal resources such as copper-clad steel or brass used to produce cartridge cases, and can also effectively reduce the weight of ammunition.

[0037] 2.5.2. Configuration of high temperature degradable plastic cartridge case The ammunition of this concept is also suitable for using high-temperature degradable plastic to make the shell, which will degrade in the high temperature after firing. This configuration is different from the conventional concept of hard high-strength plastic shells. Its plastic shell will be directly degraded in the high temperature and pressure when the ammunition is fired, without the need to eject the shell after firing. In fact, it is still a kind of caseless bullet concept.

[0038] The use of high-temperature degradable plastic to make bullet casings would theoretically be more advantageous in terms of safety and reliability than pure caseless bullets, and would not increase costs too much.

[0039] Compared with hard, high-strength, high-molecular polymer plastics (high-strength plastic cartridge cases), high-temperature degradable plastics have great advantages in material cost. The use of high-temperature degradable plastic shell configurations can theoretically better seal ammunition and provide better moisture-proof preservation. At the same time, the high-temperature degradation process of the cartridge case can also absorb more gun barrel temperature, reduce the heat rise of the ammunition in the gun barrel, and play a heat-insulating role, which is helpful in preventing the ammunition from spontaneously igniting. Furthermore, it can also reduce the special requirements for the ignition point of the second propellant, which is conducive to controlling the cost of ammunition.

[0040] 2.6. The wing corner or notch also serves as the internal support of the bottom edge of the bullet Any ammunition may have misfires, and the misfire problem is another difficulty in the design of caseless ammunition firearms. The famous German G11 caseless rifle is specially designed with a revolving bolt for this purpose, and the previous misfire bullet can only be ejected by loading the next round of ammunition.

[0041] In this concept design, the rocket tail fins are designed with a corner or notch (retractor hook angle) at the top of each tail fin. Figure 4 As shown. This tail wing angle or notch is embedded in the bottom edge of the second propellant molded by molding (or the bottom edge of the high-temperature degradable plastic shell), which is equivalent to adding a metal support structure inside the bottom edge, thereby enhancing the strength of the bottom edge of the caseless bullet. Therefore, the firearms using this concept of ammunition can use a bullet extraction hook mechanism similar to the shell extraction hook in traditional firearms to extract the dud bullet in a similar traditional way, which can relatively simplify the design of the gun.

[0042] When ejecting bullets, the gun's automatic extractor hook grabs the bottom edge of the ammunition and also hooks the metal tail of the rocket warhead, ensuring that the gun can effectively grab the misfire ammunition under harsh conditions without causing serious faults such as the bottom edge breaking, hooking off the ammunition, and being unable to extract the ammunition.

[0044] Figure 4 To illustrate the working of the wing corner serving as both the ejector hook angle and the extractor hook, the markings in the figure are as follows: 12-enlarged wing end corner or notch (ejector hook angle), 13-gun chamber, 14-extractor hook, 15-bolt.

[0045] 3. Technical Effect The present invention has the following main technical effects: 3.1. Can shorten the length of gun barrel and reduce the weight of weapon Traditional barreled guns rely entirely on the chamber pressure of the propellant explosion to obtain the flight energy of the bullet, and the barrel length of the gun determines the efficiency of the chamber pressure.

[0046] Therefore, traditional barreled guns, especially artillery technology, have been pursuing the goal of improving the aspect ratio of guns, which has brought about a series of problems in gun technology. For example, gun barrels with a large aspect ratio are heavy, difficult to manufacture, and require high material requirements; high-powered guns are long and heavy, making them inconvenient to carry, etc.

[0047] For limited range requirements (such as direct-aiming guns within visual range), the barrel of this concept rocket gun is largely only used to provide the accuracy of the rocket warhead and the propulsion efficiency of the first propellant in the rocket warhead. The barrel / gun barrel of this concept is basically just the launch rail of the rocket warhead. The length of the barrel / gun barrel corresponds to the reference speed required for the rocket warhead to maintain the accuracy of the outer ballistic flight by relying on the wings, and at the same time effectively exert the propulsion efficiency of the rocket warhead's own propellant (first propellant), rather than how to exert the chamber pressure. Therefore, this concept rocket gun / gun can effectively shorten the barrel length.

[0048] At the same time, since the barrel of this concept weapon does not need to withstand excessively high chamber pressure, the material requirements for the barrel can be greatly reduced, which will also greatly reduce the weight of the gun.

[0049] For firearms and light weapons, they can be designed to be lighter, smaller, easier to carry and easier to operate. This is especially important for scouts, airborne troops, mountain infantry, marines, tank crews, and various types of drivers. For artillery, it can improve marching efficiency, reduce the time to enter combat and withdraw from positions, or improve the mobility of artillery vehicles (such as tanks and armored vehicles).

[0050] 3.2. Reduce the weight and size of ammunition In the weight distribution of traditional ammunition, especially small arms bullets, the weight of metal shells accounts for a large proportion. This concept rocket gun / cannon uses caseless or nearly caseless bullets, thus eliminating the weight of the metal shell of traditional bullets / shells. Although the rocket warhead will be longer than the traditional projectile, most of the elongated projectile is only a small-diameter hollow rocket propellant tube. Compared with the weight of the traditional shell, the material increase brought by the elongated projectile length will still make the total weight of the ammunition much smaller.

[0051] Reducing the weight of ammunition can reduce the burden of soldiers on marches, or it can increase the number of bullets that soldiers can carry under the same load. Taking the G11 caseless rifle launched by HK in the 1980s as a reference, the number of rounds a soldier can carry increased from 240 to 510 after the shell was removed. If it is used for machine guns, such as aircraft machine guns and close-in defense guns with high firing rates, the increase in the number of rounds carried due to the small size and lightweight ammunition means a significant increase in the number of shots / total shooting time.

[0052] The rocket warhead is actually buried in the ammunition cartridge (the second propellant), so similar to the buried bullet theory, it does not increase the total length of the ammunition. The total size of this concept ammunition will not exceed that of traditional configuration ammunition of the same power, and should even be shortened.

[0053] 3.3. Improve the power of the warhead Compared with traditional bullets / shells, rocket warheads need to be loaded with rocket propellant, which increases the length of the projectile, which is equivalent to increasing the aspect ratio of the projectile. Due to the increase in the length of the rocket warhead, the mass of the projectile will be greater than that of traditional projectiles of the same diameter. A simple estimate of the concept rocket warhead, using the same 5mm-6mm diameter as the traditional small-caliber projectile (only the body is calculated, not the wings), can reach the mass of the traditional 7.62mm full-power projectile.

[0054] Secondly, the arrow-shaped warhead with a large aspect ratio that relies on the principle of tail fin stabilization has a better ability to maintain flight speed than the traditional "fat-shaped" warhead with a small aspect ratio that relies on rifling rotation stabilization.

[0055] The large aspect ratio, large mass and good flight speed retention of the bullet mean that the projectile has greater kinetic energy, penetration and armor-piercing capabilities. In addition, after such a large aspect ratio bullet penetrates the human body, the rollover effect is stronger and the trauma caused is greater.

[0056] According to the research on "arrow-shaped bullets" in the US SPIW project (Special Purpose Individual Weapon) in the 1960s - which targeted non-rocket-powered, slender, fin-stabilized arrow-shaped bullets - the arrow-shaped bullets would deform (for example, bend into a hook shape) after hitting the target. Once entering human muscles, which are 800 times denser than air, the deformed warheads would flip in a completely unpredictable manner and quickly lose energy, so theoretically they would have a higher lethality.

[0057] In addition, theoretically, the armor-piercing performance of arrow-shaped bullets is also better. The center of gravity of the bullet with a large aspect ratio is further back, which can better produce the normalization effect after hitting the target and avoid the problem of ricocheting. Still based on the data from the foreign SPIW project research, the penetration ability of a 10-grain arrow bullet against 6.3mm and 3.15mm thick hard steel or aluminum plates at 130 meters is comparable to that of the 5.56mm M195 ordinary bullet and the 7.62mm NATO M80 ordinary bullet.

[0058] 3.4. Good external ballistic performance In theory, a large aspect ratio projectile stabilized by the wing is much more stable than a traditional warhead that relies on spin stabilization at the same flight speed. From the perspective of aerodynamics, after reaching a certain speed, a rocket projectile stabilized by the tail fin has better external ballistic flight performance, stronger resistance to air interference, and a straighter external ballistic trajectory.

[0059] The rocket warhead of this concept has a high velocity when it flies out of the barrel because it gets the extra acceleration boost from the second propellant in the barrel. In addition, the wing stabilization principle makes its external ballistic characteristics much better than the traditional warhead that relies on rifling rotation stabilization. For example, when applied to light weapons bullets, it does not need to calibrate the sights at a distance of 300-400 meters.

[0060] Rocket warheads with good flight speed retention and flatter external trajectory can reduce the calculation requirements for lead time and trajectory height when firing weapons, and achieve better shooting accuracy than traditional barreled guns. When applied to infantry light weapons, it is also expected to achieve a true "two-in-one" design of rifles and precision sniper rifles, which can greatly optimize logistics management.

[0061] 3.5. Cross-media shooting capability Traditional spin-stabilized bullets quickly lose stability in water, so traditional rifles cannot be fired in water. Therefore, underwater shooting usually requires specially designed underwater firearms and ammunition, which is based on the principle of using arrow-shaped bullets.

[0062] The fin-stabilized rocket warhead of this concept uses the principle of wing stabilization, so it can remain stable in both water and air, and can be used in both air and water, with cross-medium shooting capabilities. That is, the firearms using this concept do not need to be specially designed for underwater guns, and the models used in the air can also be used in water. This is particularly useful for special forces and amphibious frogman scouts.

[0063] 3.6. Reduce firing recoil In the ammunition of this concept rocket gun / cannon, the charge of the second propellant is lower than that of traditional gun ammunition, and the projectile relies more on the first propellant of the rocket warhead itself to fly. The recoil caused by the first propellant in the rocket warhead will decrease rapidly after the bolt is unlocked or the rocket warhead flies out of the barrel, and does not completely act on the internal ballistic flight in the barrel. The second propellant has a low charge, and its own interaction with part of the first propellant and the muzzle recoil generated are theoretically much smaller than traditional ammunition. Therefore, under the same unlocking mechanism, compared with traditional ammunition with the same power effect, the recoil of this concept weapon will be smaller than that of traditional barreled guns.

[0064] Reducing recoil is of great significance for improving the shooting accuracy of light weapons, especially for automatic weapons such as machine guns / cannons, as it can reduce projectile dispersion.

[0065] 3.7. Improve the service life of guns and cannons Traditional barreled weapons need to withstand extremely high firing chamber pressures, and rifled barrels also have the problem of rifling erosion, which will seriously affect the life of the barrel.

[0066] The barrel of this concept rocket gun / cannon is mainly used as a launch rail for the rocket warhead. The chamber pressure it bears is much lower than that of traditional barrels, and its barrel life is longer than that of traditional guns and cannons. The requirements for manufacturing process and materials will have obvious advantages over traditional guns and cannons.

[0067] 3.8. It is beneficial to the heat dissipation and sand and water removal of automatic weapons This concept rocket gun / cannon has an X-shaped (or three-divided) convex rail inside the barrel to support the smoothbore shooting of the warhead, and there is a large gap inside the barrel, so it has a great advantage in heat dissipation. If it is applied to an aircraft machine gun, the high-speed oncoming air entering the barrel gap during the flight of the carrier aircraft can play a better role in air cooling and heat dissipation.

[0068] Based on the US research report on "Heat Transfer of Caseless Ammunition" (ADAO34159), the conclusion drawn from the spontaneous combustion test of the M16 with 5.56mm cased ammunition is that the highest temperature rise in the bore is located at the slope, that is, the part of the bore that contacts the arc of the bullet and guides the bullet into the rifling. The spontaneous combustion of ammunition in the M16 rifle is primarily caused by the heat transferred from the bullet to the propellant, not by the heat of the shell.

[0069] The barrel of this concept weapon is the end of an X-shaped (or three-part) convex rail, which is equivalent to the slope of a traditional rifled gun. This "slope" is not the (cross-sectional) circumferential slope of a traditional gun. Only the four or three guide sections at the end of the X-shaped (or three-part) convex rail inside the barrel contact the ammunition to form a slope, so the effect of the "slope" heating up and conducting heat to the ammunition will be greatly reduced.

[0070] At the same time, the void space inside the barrel is also conducive to the removal of sand and water from the weapon in harsh environments, as well as reducing the impact of gunpowder residue, which can effectively reduce the failure rate of guns and artillery.

[0071] 3.9. Can control the cost of ammunition In the field of light weapons research and development, the cost of ammunition plays a key role in whether the weapon can be put into practical use and whether it has future prospects. When the war situation enters a stalemate, the competition is often about the consumption and supply of ammunition.

[0072] In principle, due to the relatively low efficiency of rocket propellants, traditional rockets have an inherent disadvantage in cost compared to traditional chamber pressure fired fixed ammunition. The main reason for this is that rockets accelerate slowly, resulting in low propulsion efficiency of rocket propellants at low speeds. Therefore, traditional rockets need to carry more propellants to achieve the same projectile kinetic energy as fixed ammunition fired by barreled guns.

[0073] To address this problem, this concept rocket gun uses a dual-propellant configuration, and the key role of the second propellant is to give the rocket warhead an additional boost at the moment of launch, so that the rocket warhead is accelerated to a speed that can effectively exert the rocket propellant in a very short time, thereby greatly reducing the amount of propellant (first propellant) carried by the rocket warhead itself. The combined effect of the first propellant and the second propellant can achieve the power of traditional fixed ammunition without increasing the cost of propellant too much.

[0074] At the same time, due to the low charge characteristics of the second propellant, this dual-propellant configuration rocket ammunition concept can easily and reliably realize the ammunition caseless. By caseless, the traditional metal shell is eliminated, thereby controlling and reducing the total cost of ammunition.

[0075] Ideally, especially for bullets used in light weapons, the total amount of propellant in the bullet is not large and the metal shell accounts for a large proportion of the total cost. Therefore, even though the cost of the first propellant of the dual-propellant rocket ammunition of this concept will increase, the total cost of the ammunition can still be controlled within a range not higher than that of traditional fixed ammunition. Even because the metal shell is omitted, the total cost of this concept ammunition used in the field of light weapons bullets is likely to be significantly better than that of traditional fixed bullets.

[0076] 3.10. Realize “one gun for multiple uses” In the field of firearms and light weapons, the same specification of traditional ammunition can develop multiple types of ammunition to meet different combat needs. However, the development of multiple types of ammunition is subject to many factors of weapons, such as rifling pitch, bolt performance, gas flow, etc. Many different types of ammunition of the same specification cannot be truly universally used.

[0077] In this concept of dual-propellant rocket ammunition, the rocket warhead is fired from a smoothbore, and the barrel rifling twist is not involved. At the same time, the first propellant actually completes its work after the rocket warhead flies out of the launch tube, and different ballistic performances can be achieved by changing the performance of the first propellant. Different types of ammunition are developed by loading the first propellant with different performances, which greatly reduces the requirements for the launch device (firearm) itself.

[0078] Therefore, the application of this concept in the development of light weapons is expected to achieve the real "one gun for multiple uses". That is, the same gun can achieve different shooting effects, such as different effective ranges and different lethality, without changing weapon parts, just by using different types of bullets. This will have positive significance in production supply, logistics management, and even innovation in tactics and tactics.

[0079] Assume that in a combat organization, the squad, platoon, and company all use the same type of gun, and each soldier carries 4 magazines, of which the rifleman carries 3 rifle magazines plus 1 long-range magazine, and the machine gunner and sniper carry 3 long-range magazines plus 1 rifle magazine. In theory, in actual combat, any soldier can act as a machine gunner or sniper without relying on the original organization, and tactical flexibility will be greatly improved.

[0080] 4. Implementation methods and application prospects The main technical advantages of the present invention are concentrated in the field of small and medium caliber, limited range direct-aiming guns and artillery weapons. Under limited range conditions, the first propellant has less charge, the barrel pressure is low, and the cost of weapons and ammunition is low. The dual-propellant rocket of this concept can better reflect the advantages of high hit accuracy, straight trajectory, small recoil, good arrow-shaped bullet speed retention ability, large penetration, and good personnel killing effect. For large-caliber artillery weapons with ultra-long range, since the charge of the first propellant and the second propellant must be increased, the complexity of the rocket projectile will also increase, the cost of ammunition will rise accordingly, and the requirements for the launch barrel will also increase. Therefore, in theory, the longer the range, the less obvious the advantage or further research is needed - even involving the field of artillery rocket technology.

[0081] Therefore, the present invention is expected to be mainly applicable to infantry light weapons, such as pistols (individual self-defense weapons), submachine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, light and heavy machine guns, and small and medium caliber direct-aiming artillery such as tank guns, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, and aviation machine guns.

[0082] 4.1. New infantry light weapons (rocket guns) Light weapons are very sensitive to the cost of ammunition, and they consume a lot of ammunition in daily training and combat. Light weapons are also very sensitive to shooting accuracy and continuous shooting dispersion. The higher the weapon accuracy and the smaller the dispersion, the better. Light weapons are also sensitive to the weight of the weapon and the weight of the ammunition. The lighter the weapon and the ammunition, the more suitable it is for carrying and combat. Light weapons are also sensitive to the reliability of the weapon. The more reliable the weapon and ammunition are in the harsh battlefield environment, the more obvious the advantage. However, light weapons are not sensitive to the range of ammunition. Usually the range requirement is only about 400 meters to 500 meters. Even the practical range of special sniper rifles is only about 1,000 meters.

[0083] Therefore, the dual-propellant rocket bullet / rocket gun concept of the present invention is suitable for development as an infantry light weapon. Under the limited range requirement, the cost of ammunition is well controlled, avoiding the cost disadvantage of traditional rockets. At the same time, the dual-propellant rocket bullet of the present concept has the characteristics of straight trajectory, small weapon recoil, light weapon and ammunition, good sand and water discharge, arrow-shaped bullet penetration, large lethality, etc., and can achieve cross-media shooting capability that can be used in both air and water.

[0084] The following proposes a new type of infantry light weapon that combines submachine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and light machine guns into one model, without replacing weapon parts such as barrels and receivers, so that submachine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and light machine guns can be fully integrated. Figure 5 The performance indicators are aimed at a basic effective range of about 600 meters. The size of the gun is similar to that of existing submachine guns / short assault rifles. The size of the ammunition is similar to the size range of traditional pistol bullets (not exceeding the size of small-caliber rifle bullets). The ordinary magazine has 50 rounds of ammunition. The shooting accuracy and shooting dispersion are better than the current automatic rifles of various countries in the world and can achieve the effect of high-precision sniper rifles.

[0086] Figure 5 This is a new type of automatic rocket gun light weapon concept that applies this concept. The symbols in the figure are as follows: 16-muzzle, 17-smoke exhaust port and bullet ejection port, 18-bolt handle, 19-rate selector, 20a-trigger safety (safety closed in the ready state), 20b-trigger safety on (cannot shoot), 21a-telescopic stock (expanded), 21b-telescopic stock (contracted), 22-smoothbore firing barrel, 23-bolt.

[0087] Since the flight of the rocket warhead in this concept does not entirely rely on the barrel and chamber pressure, the first propellant in the rocket warhead can work for a short distance after the projectile flies out of the barrel. Therefore, as long as the first propellant in the ammunition is modified, long-range sniper ammunition with a longer range but a slightly higher cost can be developed. In this way, the same gun can be used as a submachine gun, automatic rifle, light machine gun, and can also be equipped with long-range ammunition to directly become a long-range sniper rifle.

[0088] 4.2. New tank main gun / tank armor-piercing projectile Tank armor-piercing shells / tank main guns are relatively insensitive to the cost of ammunition, but are somewhat sensitive to the weight of the main gun, and are more sensitive to the power and shooting accuracy of the main gun. The present invention can also be applied in the field of tank guns.

[0089] The main gun of a tank using this concept of dual-propellant rockets can first reduce its own weight (mainly by shortening the barrel length), which can solve the difficult situation that as the caliber and barrel of the main battle tank continue to increase, the weight of the turret and the vehicle also rises rapidly, resulting in an increasingly heavy burden on the suspension system and increasingly high requirements for the power system. Due to the reduction in the weight of the gun, the tank's protection can be increased at the same engine power. Or under the same protection conditions, the tank's mobility can be greatly enhanced. Compared with mainstream tank smoothbore guns, this concept tank gun has an advantage in reducing the weight of the gun body.

[0090] In terms of improving the power of the main gun, this concept ammunition has the characteristics of rocket propulsion. Compared with the pure chamber pressure fired fin-stabilized discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile, it is easier to increase the flight speed and range of the projectile through research and improvement of the first propellant. It has greater development potential in improving armor-piercing power than the fin-stabilized discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile. The main battle tanks using this concept tank gun can continuously improve their combat effectiveness (armor-piercing capability) by improving and developing ammunition technology without changing the main gun model.

[0091] In terms of the main gun shooting accuracy, first of all, reducing the weight of the gun body can reduce the burden on the fire control system, which plays a positive role in improving the main gun fire control performance. Secondly, due to the shortening of the barrel, the main gun of this concept tank will have advantages over traditional tank guns in terms of barrel manufacturing accuracy and calibration. It may also save gun accessories such as thermal jackets, which can also effectively improve the main gun's shooting accuracy. Thirdly, due to the dual-propellant characteristics of this concept rocket, the rocket with a high muzzle velocity can have an external ballistic accuracy that is no lower than that of a pure chamber pressure-driven tail-stabilized armor-piercing projectile.

[0092] 4.3. New aviation machine gun This concept rocket gun / cannon also has the potential to be applied in the field of airborne aviation artillery. Airborne aviation artillery is extremely sensitive to weapon firing rate, shooting accuracy, projectile dispersion, shooting recoil, and the weight of the artillery and ammunition. If used for ground attack, there are also high requirements for the armor-piercing power of the projectile. However, aircraft guns are relatively insensitive to the cost of ammunition and do not have high requirements for effective range. In air combat, the firing distance of aircraft guns is generally within 1,000 meters, and in order to ensure the hit rate, the firing distance is usually reduced to about 500 meters (or closer).

[0093] 4.3.1. Conventional caliber (20mm-30mm) aviation rocket launcher This concept can be applied to aircraft-mounted cannons. First, it can reduce the size and weight of the cannon, which theoretically means that the carrier aircraft's ammunition carrying capacity can be improved. Taking fighter jets as an example, the current cannon ammunition carrying capacity of major fighter jets in various countries is usually only about 100-300 rounds. Coupled with the extremely high weapon rate of fire, it can only maintain 2-3 firings. If the weight reduction advantage of caseless ammunition can be utilized, and the volume advantage brought by the "buried head" configuration of this concept rocket ammunition can be added, it is estimated that the number of ammunition can be increased by at least 80% under the same ammunition weight, and at least 50% under the same ammunition box volume.

[0094] Secondly, the recoil of this concept weapon when firing ammunition of the same power effect will be significantly better than that of traditional aircraft guns. Reducing the recoil can reduce the weight of the aircraft structure where the aircraft gun is installed, while improving the accuracy of the aircraft gun. Or it means that under the same recoil bearing condition of the carrier aircraft, the power of the aircraft gun's projectile can be greatly improved. (For example, some medium and light armed helicopters cannot be equipped with high-power aircraft guns because the carrier aircraft cannot withstand the huge recoil of the aircraft gun) By making use of the characteristic that the first propellant of the rocket ammunition of this concept can continue to work for a short period of time after the projectile is ejected, the rocket ammunition of this concept can especially enhance the working time and specific impulse of the first propellant, so that the ejected rocket projectile has a higher velocity and a straighter trajectory, which can effectively reduce the lead time of the carrier aircraft. Reducing the lead time of shooting is particularly important for aircraft-borne artillery, which can greatly increase the probability of a fighter aircraft hitting a target in actual combat.

[0095] In addition, the caseless characteristics of the dual-propellant rocket ammunition of this concept also have great advantages for aircraft gun applications. The shells ejected by traditional aircraft guns at high maneuvers and high firing rates pose a risk to the aircraft itself, and aircraft guns without shell ejection mechanisms (such as the American M61) have to return the hot shells after shooting, along with possible misfires, to the drum, which also poses a risk. The rocket-aircraft gun of this concept does not need to eject shells, thereby avoiding the possibility of accidental damage to the shells themselves, and also avoiding the trouble and danger of recovering shells and misfires in the air.

[0096] 4.3.2 Large-caliber (50 mm-60 mm) aviation-guided rocket launchers On the other hand, by taking advantage of the small recoil of the double-propellant rocket projectile of this concept, this concept can also be derived and developed into a large-diameter guided air rocket projectile in the application of aircraft guns, such as a guided rocket bomb / aircraft gun with a projectile diameter of 50 mm to 60 mm (excluding the wing), such as Figure 6 shown.

[0097] The development of rocket bombs / aircraft guns with the dual-propellant concept of the present invention can effectively launch rocket bombs with a diameter of 50 mm-60 mm with a recoil force not exceeding that of a traditional 37 mm rifled aircraft gun, giving the rocket bombs a higher muzzle velocity, thereby greatly enhancing the working efficiency of the rocket propellant (the first propellant), and enabling the rocket bombs to obtain stronger flight energy. Large-diameter rocket bombs are suitable for adding guidance components, and their guidance capabilities only need to meet the requirements of tail-end attack. The effective range of tail-end maneuvers is estimated to be no less than 3-5 kilometers.

[0098] The large-caliber guided air-to-air rocket launcher using this concept will not exceed the maximum ammunition size of my country's Type 57-1 / 2 aviation rocket, and can still be designed with an automatic ammunition feeding method in the ammunition box. Compared with (close-range combat) air-to-air missiles, it has obvious advantages in the number of ammunition it carries, cost advantages, and rate of fire. Although guided rockets of this size will be limited by insufficient maneuvering energy, or can only meet the needs of tail-end dogfights, their combat effectiveness is not low given the more sufficient ammunition reserves and rate of fire than air-to-air missiles. If it can be put into practical use, it may change the development direction of future air combat weapons, and change the existing fighter aircraft's weapon mode of carrying "medium-range missiles + close-range missiles + aircraft guns" to a new mode of "medium-range missiles (responsible for medium- and short-range omnidirectional attacks) + this concept's double-propellant barrel rocket aircraft gun (responsible for close-range tail-end attacks)".

[0099] In addition, this dual-propellant concept large-caliber guided air rocket launcher is also promising for ground attack, especially for attacking vehicles / armored targets, and can use higher bullet speed to improve the rocket's armor-piercing ability. (According to public reports, foreign countries have long been conducting research on guided air rockets. The United States began to carry out a preliminary technical verification called APKWS "Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System" in 1996, and gradually installed guidance systems for some improved versions of the Hydra-70 air rocket after 2009. However, its launch concept is still traditional, and its combat mode is limited to ground attack)

[0100] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a large-caliber double-propellant barrel rocket cannon using a guidance assembly. The markings in the figure are as follows: 24-high-temperature degradable sealing cap, 25-guidance assembly compartment (guidance head), 26-warhead, 3-first propellant (rocket propellant), 4-second propellant (low-charge artillery propellant), 6-primer, 27a-folding wings (folded), 27b-folding wings (expanded), 28-enlarged wing notch (ejector hook angle), 29-smoothbore gun barrel.

[0101] In the large-caliber dual-propellant guided tube rocket cannon, the working principle of the first and second propellants remains unchanged. However, since it is a guided ammunition, the wings can be changed to foldable (full-movable), and the wings are unfolded after the rocket flies out of the tube and also serve as aerodynamic control surfaces for the rocket's maneuverability.

[0102] The folding wings can also create a gap and be embedded in the bottom edge of the second propellant or high-temperature degradable plastic shell to form an ammunition tail shape similar to that of a retracted rim bullet.

[0103] Because it uses folding wings and is a guided ammunition, the barrel does not need to use a structure with internal convex rails to provide internal ballistic accuracy, and only an ordinary rocket launcher tube is required. The smoothbore barrel and the rocket do not need to fit completely, because the first propellant can also provide a breath-holding effect for the boost acceleration of the second propellant after ignition. Because it is an airborne artillery, its automatic machine can use internal energy or external energy.

Claims

1. A double-propellant configuration barrel rocket gun is a double-propellant configuration smoothbore barrel rocket gun or rocket gun that combines traditional rocket shells and traditional fixed gun shells technology, characterized in that: The ammunition is a double-propellant configuration rocket consisting of a cross-wing or three-part wing rocket with a low-charge traditional gun propellant coated on the outside, and the launching barrel is a smoothbore barrel with an X-shaped or three-part convex rail inside.

2. The dual-propellant configuration rocket as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: When fired, the rocket propellant inside the rocket ignites first, and then ignites the low-charge gun propellant coating on the outside of the rocket.

3. The dual-propellant configuration rocket as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Ammunition casings that adopt caseless configuration or are made of high-temperature degradable plastic.

4. The dual-propellant configuration rocket as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Use round cross-section bullets or square cross-section bullets with guide caps.

5. The dual-propellant configuration rocket as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A folded corner or notch is made on the wing of the projectile, and the folded corner or notch is embedded in the bottom edge of the outer coating of gun propellant formed by molding (or in the bottom edge of the high-temperature degradable plastic shell).

6. The gun barrel as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: It is a smoothbore barrel with an X-shaped or three-divided convex rail inside the barrel, and the corresponding double-propellant configuration rocket used is a cross-shaped wing or a three-divided wing.

Images