There are three main factors that determine the elastic performance of a gun, one is the firearm that fires the bullet, the second is the structure of the bullet, and the third is the basic composition of the bullet. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Among them, the basic components are the most important.

When it comes to the core technical indicators, that is, the muzzle kinetic energy, the decisive role is played by the propellant.

Although the length of the barrel and the length of the rifling also have an effect on the muzzle kinetic energy, they are secondary factors and not the determining factor.

To put it simply, to increase the muzzle kinetic energy, you have to make a fuss about the propellant.

The most direct way is to increase the amount of propellant reloaded, that is, to use more propellant, increase the chamber pressure, and give the warhead a higher muzzle velocity.

It's just that this is also the stupidest way, or the way there is no way.

Increasing the charge can lead to a number of problems, and not all of them can be solved by technical means.

For example, increasing the charge will inevitably require the use of larger cartridge cases, which will lead to a larger size of the bullet, and will also make the bullet heavier, making the soldier's carrying capacity lower than the same period last year, reducing the ability of individual soldiers to continue fighting, or making soldiers bear more loads.

Obviously, the carrying capacity of soldiers is limited, and letting soldiers carry more weight will inevitably reduce the combat effectiveness of soldiers.

In order to improve the combat effectiveness and survivability of soldiers, all countries are trying to reduce the quality of weapon systems, and they will never go against each other.

In fact, this is also the key to the difficulty of replacing small-caliber bullets with 7.62mm NATO bullets.

There are only two ways to improve the performance of a bullet within the limited size and mass range, one is to change the design, and the other is to use a better performance propellant.

The 8 mm countersunk cartridge developed by Textron for use on the LAST machine gun was the first method.

With a 30% reduction in size and a 30% reduction in weight, the overall performance of this bullet is 40% higher than that of the 7.62 mm NATO bullet.

The point was to replace the metal cartridge case with a plastic one, which allowed it to be loaded with more propellant.

If the cartridge case is eliminated, that is, the caseless shell, the performance can be further improved.

Only, there are still limits.

Quite simply, Textron's countersunk ammunition still uses a propellant that has been developed from a traditional explosive, and the quality and energy are similar to those of other bullets.

In order to fundamentally solve the problem of insufficient elastic performance of guns, the most effective means is to develop a propellant with better performance.

To put it figuratively, it's like replacing black powder with yellow explosives, which is enough to take a whole new level of firearm performance.

Of course, this is also the most difficult means to achieve.

In fact, major military powers, including the United States, are developing propellants with better performance, but no breakthroughs have been made so far.

The delay in the US military's large-scale procurement of LAST machine guns is related to this.

It's just that in the field of propellants, it is not only the United States that is at the forefront, but also China.

Although the U.S. military has the most experience in the use of firearms and the most urgent need for new firearms, the U.S. military is also the most burdened.

If nothing else, the stock of 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition is enough for the US military to last for decades.

If it were all replaced, the cost would be prohibitively high.

With money going on everywhere, even if the congressional bigwigs give the green light to the new ammunition, the Pentagon's generals may not be willing to do so.

As a result, most of the research results achieved by the US military in the field of propellants have become reserve technologies.

Similarly, the research carried out by Huaxia in the field of propellants is also mainly aimed at exploration, rather than promoting and applying them in the near future.

"In the long run, all current propellants will be eliminated."

"Long-term?"

Zhao Yu nodded and said, "Ten years, at most twenty years, the propellant developed based on the new chemical theory will be born." ”

Wang Dong frowned, and the others were also puzzled.

"Total Nitrogen Anions and Total Nitrogen Cationic Compounds."

"What's that?"

"An almost perfect compound can not only be used to replace explosives, but also has a greater application value in the aerospace field. Of course, if you look at the longer term, metallic hydrogen is even more valuable, but it will be at least a few decades before metallic hydrogen is likely to come out of the laboratory. ”

"What you're talking about is too long-term." Wang Dong reminded Zhao Yu.

"It's true that even total nitrogen compounds are hard to use in a few years, and when they are used in guns, I'm afraid it will be ten or even twenty years away."

"And then?"

"During the Cold War, the United States spent a lot of effort on the development of liquid propellants, and also tested large-caliber ammunition, that is, artillery shells. The effect is ideal, the cost is also high, and it cannot be used for small-caliber ammunition, mainly because the production process is too complicated. Unlike the United States, Germany pinned its hopes on blunt explosives, which led to the design of the caseless bullet and the G11 rifle, which was famous at the time. If the Cold War had not ended, perhaps the rifles developed on the G11 to fire shellless shells would have been equipped with the Wehrmacht. Before the collapse, the USSR was also developing high-performance propellants, but chose a very different direction from the virtues. ”

"In what direction?"

"Gelatinous plastic explosives."

Wang Dong let out a long breath and let Zhao Yu continue.

"It's a pity that until the collapse of the Soviet Union, basic research work was not completed." Zhao Yu smiled reluctantly, and said, "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we obtained a technical information that was lacking a lot. As far as I know, it was bought back from Ukraine at a great price. Next, we did an analysis and found that the reason why the Soviet Union was not able to succeed was that the plastic propellant that met the loading process was very unstable, had serious safety risks, could not be used directly on bullets, and the economy of using large-caliber ammunition was very poor. It was clear that even if the Soviet Union had not collapsed, it would not have been possible to develop a plastic propellant that could be used on bullets. ”

Wang Dong nodded slightly, indicating that he understood what Zhao Yu meant.

"Of course, this is the lesson. Fundamentally, there was nothing wrong with the direction of the USSR, that is, the plastic propellant had the highest utilization of space, and it was of the greatest significance to use it on countersunk bombs. The only thing to be solved is reliability, that is, to improve the stability of the propellant and meet the standards for safe use. ”

"Solved?"

Zhao Yu nodded and said: "Before leaving the Military Intelligence Bureau, our scientific researchers have found a way, to be precise, in the right direction. ”

"What do you mean?"

"The propellant is divided into two, that is, it is made up of two compounds, which can only be detonated after mixing, and it is stable when placed separately."

"This ......"

"The problem is also prominent, that is, the binary propellant has extremely high requirements for the loading process, not to mention small-caliber ammunition, even large-caliber ammunition, the process is very complicated. It's not that mass production can't be achieved, but it's too expensive, and it will be dozens of times more expensive to use on small-caliber ammunition than existing gun cartridges. In addition, there were other technical difficulties, so when I left MIA, the development of binary propellants was still in the laboratory stage. ”

"Zhao Yu, after saying so much, isn't it all nonsense?" Luo Qing was obviously a little impatient.

"That was three years ago, not now."