Truck-mounted cannon can shoot drones out of the sky

[Zarvan]

Thales' RAPIDFire weapon is designed to attack aerial and ground vehicles. The truck-mounted gun can shoot down combat drones, helicopters and missiles, according to company officials.Thales

A new weapon designed to defend against combat drones looks like it's straight out of the video game "Halo."

The French multinational company Thales is building a huge truck-mounted gun that can autonomously shoot down drones, helicopters and missiles, according to the company's description of the weapon.

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Known as RAPIDFire, the 40-mm gun, mounted on a turret on wheels, can be fired "for self-defense purposes" while the vehicle is moving, the description states. The lethal weapon can fire up to 200 rounds per minute, and can target drones and other airborne vehicles as far away as 13,100 feet, and infantry combat vehicles at a range of up to 8,200 feet. [See video of the RAPIDFire gun system]

The weapon also has a speedy reaction time - it takes only 4.5 seconds from the time it detects a target to being ready to fire. The gun has light sensors and surveillance radar, and can operate in a fully autonomous mode. Human control is "needed only for weapon assignment and firing orders," according to Thales.

The gun's ammunition can penetrate 5.5 inches of vehicle armor from 4,900 feet away. The gun can fire tungsten pellets at targets in the air, but for targets on land, the ammo is programmed to explode while in flight and eject fragments sideways.

The truck-mounted weapon is equipped with infrared and laser range finders that can be used day or night. The system is also immune to most known signal-jamming technologies, thus protecting it from interference and enemy attacks, according to Thales.

For safety, the weapon system includes visual recognition of targets, "thus reducing the risk of fratricide firings" (friendly fire), the company's description says.

Truck-mounted cannon can shoot drones out of the sky | Fox News
@Aeronaut @Oscar @Slav Defence

 

[Echo_419]

Thales' RAPIDFire weapon is designed to attack aerial and ground vehicles. The truck-mounted gun can shoot down combat drones, helicopters and missiles, according to company officials.Thales

A new weapon designed to defend against combat drones looks like it's straight out of the video game "Halo."

The French multinational company Thales is building a huge truck-mounted gun that can autonomously shoot down drones, helicopters and missiles, according to the company's description of the weapon.

ADVERTISEMENT

Known as RAPIDFire, the 40-mm gun, mounted on a turret on wheels, can be fired "for self-defense purposes" while the vehicle is moving, the description states. The lethal weapon can fire up to 200 rounds per minute, and can target drones and other airborne vehicles as far away as 13,100 feet, and infantry combat vehicles at a range of up to 8,200 feet. [See video of the RAPIDFire gun system]

The weapon also has a speedy reaction time - it takes only 4.5 seconds from the time it detects a target to being ready to fire. The gun has light sensors and surveillance radar, and can operate in a fully autonomous mode. Human control is "needed only for weapon assignment and firing orders," according to Thales.

The gun's ammunition can penetrate 5.5 inches of vehicle armor from 4,900 feet away. The gun can fire tungsten pellets at targets in the air, but for targets on land, the ammo is programmed to explode while in flight and eject fragments sideways.

The truck-mounted weapon is equipped with infrared and laser range finders that can be used day or night. The system is also immune to most known signal-jamming technologies, thus protecting it from interference and enemy attacks, according to Thales.

For safety, the weapon system includes visual recognition of targets, "thus reducing the risk of fratricide firings" (friendly fire), the company's description says.

Truck-mounted cannon can shoot drones out of the sky | Fox News
@Aeronaut @Oscar @Slav Defence

You do realise the PK not able to stop drone attacks is a political problem & not a Technological one right
F-16 or JF-17 can shoot down drones any day

 

[Penguin]

You do realise the PK not able to stop drone attacks is a political problem & not a Technological one right
F-16 or JF-17 can shoot down drones any day

I bet a few rounds of these are a lot cheaper than senging an expensive fighter to fire expensive missiles.

 

[C130]

interesting concept.
the cannon is CT 40.
but I gotta question really how effective it is against drones like Predator/Reaper that fly up as high as 7 KM and can fire Hellfires with a range of 8KM

so can RAPIDfire detect these high flying drones, and can the CT 40 hit them at that range??

 

[applesauce]

how is this in anyways ground breaking? we have plenty of SPAAG types all over the world

"Human control is "needed only for weapon assignment and firing orders" <- new SPAAG basically all functions like this

 

[Penguin]

interesting concept.
the cannon is CT 40.
but I gotta question really how effective it is against drones like Predator/Reaper that fly up as high as 7 KM and can fire Hellfires with a range of 8KM

so can RAPIDfire detect these high flying drones, and can the CT 40 hit them at that range??

A 40mm by itself probably not, but don't underestimate this gun. The horizontal max ranges for 40L60 and 40L70 are over 7km and over 12km respectively! But that is using ballistic trajectory, AAA role altitude is less. The 40L60 has an efective range of 2,6km in AAA role with an effective slant range of 4,375 yards (4000 m), and it should be more for the L70. The latest version of the 40L70 is the Bofors Trinity self-propelled 40-mm single AA gun system, a modular system which weighs about 11,023 lb (5000 kg) in its land-based form with radar, yet is capable of decisive engagements with individually aimed rounds to maximum ranges of 6,560 yards (6000 m) against fixed-wing aircraft, 5,470 yards (5000 m) against rotary-wing aircraft, and 3,280 ft (3000 m) against missiles....
Luchtdoelartillerie.nl
The Bofors Gun-Modern developments | Aviation and Military History Blog | Chris Chant's Blog

See also the source: Thales

The RAPIDFire system has also been designed to enable firing of the STARStreak missilesystem, a Very Short Range Air Defence missile system with a speed in excess of Mach 3 and a range of around 7km. The combination of six STARStreak missiles and the latest generation 40mm cased telescope ammunition ensure both precision attack and high firepower.

RAPIDFire | Thales Group (with video)

As the second stage burns out, the three dart sub-munitions are released. ...

The missiles are guided by two laser beams projected into a two dimensional matrix by the aiming unit. The laser is modulated according to its position in the projected matrix, this modulation is detected by each sub-munition and allows it to determine any steering correction. The sub-munitions steer by briefly decelerating the rotating fore-body with a clutch. The front wings then steer the missile in the appropriate direction.

The three sub-munitions fly in a formation about 1.5 meters in radius, and have enough kinetic energy to manoeuvre to meet a target evading at 9 g at 7,000 meters

Each sub-munition dart travelling at 1,250 meters per second (2,800 mph) has comparable kinetic energy to a shell from a Bofors 40 mm gun and probably has sufficient energy to penetrate the front armour of an infantry fighting vehicle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starstreak_(missile)

Incidentally, Apache can use Starstreak as complementary missile to Hellfire, for lighter armored targets and anti-helicopter warfare. ....

RapidFire 40mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun missile air defense system technical data sheet UK - Army Recognition - Army Recognition

Thales RAPIDFire Multi-Role 40 mm Gun System | Defense Media Network with video

 

[Ra'ad]

A new weapon designed to defend against combat drones looks like it's straight out of the video game "Halo."
[/USER]

How does Halo fit in with this? I see no similarities here. Anyone care to explain.

 

[C130]

so it a Bofors gun or the CT 40?
and if it's armed with Starstreak that's awesome.

would love to see the CT 40 on AC-130 along with the 105 Howitzer.
shame we're phasing out Bofors 40/60 because of lack of ammunition I think.

 

[Cossack25A1]

How does Halo fit in with this? I see no similarities here. Anyone care to explain.

Possibly because of this vehicle from Halo Wars, thus the reference to Halo.

 

[Penguin]

so it a Bofors gun or the CT 40?
and if it's armed with Starstreak that's awesome.

would love to see the CT 40 on AC-130 along with the 105 Howitzer.
shame we're phasing out Bofors 40/60 because of lack of ammunition I think.

Based on the 40CTA (40mm Cased Telescoped Ammunition) Gun System
https://www.thalesgroup.com/sites/default/files/asset/document/rapidfire_05_13pr.pdf

 

[That Guy]

You do realise the PK not able to stop drone attacks is a political problem & not a Technological one right
F-16 or JF-17 can shoot down drones any day

Even a MANPAD can do it, and PA has shown in it's exercises that it can shoot down drones easily. It's even shot down Indian drones in the past.

I completely agree, this is more due to politics than tech.

 

[MilSpec]

I bet a few rounds of these are a lot cheaper than senging an expensive fighter to fire expensive missiles.

Whats wrong with ack-ack

 

[Viper0011.]

[quote="Zarvan, post: 5956105, member: 38934" ]

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Known as RAPIDFire, the 40-mm gun, mounted on a turret on wheels, can be fired "for self-defense purposes" while the vehicle is moving, the description states. The lethal weapon can fire up to 200 rounds per minute, and can target drones and other airborne vehicles as far away as 13,100 feet, and infantry combat vehicles at a range of up to 8,200 feet. [See video of the RAPIDFire gun system]

It may be good for low flying drones that majority of the world operates (below 15K feet) but its useless against pretty much all advanced American drones as they fly much higher. The Global Hawk can get closer to 80K feet. Majority of the US drones now being used fly above the ceiling of short range SAM's and these cannons are a level below that.

 

[Penguin]

It may be good for low flying drones that majority of the world operates (below 15K feet) but its useless against pretty much all advanced American drones as they fly much higher. The Global Hawk can get closer to 80K feet. Majority of the US drones now being used fly above the ceiling of short range SAM's and these cannons are a level below that.

A critism that applies even to all but medium/long range SAM systems....

 

[Viper0011.]

A critism that applies even to all but medium/long range SAM systems....

We are just comparing this Cannon system and how it can target advanced drones. I brought in Short Range SAMS as that's a level above this majority of the nations use for point defense purposes and it related to the Cannon bases system as far as the effective range and altitude is concerned. Medium and Higher Altitude SAMS are an entirely different game.