French military officials touring Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren
Division (NSWCDD), received briefings on Navy technical programs from
the electromagnetic railgun to the hypervelocity projectile, Sept. 4.
The event, and recent British Navy visits, supports the Chief of Naval
Operations' Sailing Directions to operate forward in new and flexible
ways with access to strategic maritime crossroads. |
Dr. Chris
Lloyd, High Energy Laser Lethality Lead at Naval Surface Warfare Center
Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), briefs French Rear Adm. Christian Dugué,
Naval Technical Director for France's Defense Procurement Agency, at
the NSWCDD Laser Lethality Lab during the French delegation's NSWCDD
visit. Lloyd explained the importance of rigorous modeling and laboratory
testing against target materials to ensure high energy laser systems
are built that meet the requirements of the warfighter once fielded.
NSWCDD is leveraging its knowledge of electromagnetic launchers, hypervelocity
projectiles, and directed energy weapons, in addition to its established
core capabilities in complex warfare systems development and integration
to incorporate electric weapons technology into existing and future
fighting forces and platforms. (Photo by U.S. Navy)
|
"Our
forward presence will build on and strengthen our partnerships and alliances
where sea lanes, resources, and vital U.S. interests intersect,"
states the CNO Sailing Directions regarding the Navy’s contribution
and characteristics over the next 10-15 years .
French Rear Adm. Jean-Philippe Chaineau, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff
Plans and Programs, and French Rear Adm. Christian Dugué, Naval
Technical Director for the Defense Procurement Agency, led the delegation
which toured NSWCDD, including human systems integration, directed energy
weapons, electromagnetic environmental effects, and electromagnetic
railgun facilities.
"Working together with our allies during the science and technology
as well as the RDT&E (research, development, test and evaluation)
phases can lead to many benefits such as program improvements, cost
and time savings plus enhanced interoperability," said Jed Ryan,
NSWCDD International Partnering Office lead.
The French military officials also toured the gun line at the Navy's
Potomac River Test Range — 715 acres of land and a 169-square-nautical-mile
water area that stretches along the lower 51 miles of the Potomac River.
They saw how Dahlgren's gun test facility evolved and expanded to include
numerous scientific and response-force missions serving all branches
of the United States armed forces. |
