This project has received funding from the European Union’s Preparatory

Action for Defence Research - PADR programme under grant agreement No

884184 [PILUM]

https://www.eda.europa.eu/what-we-do/activities/activities-search/pilot-project-and-preparatory-action-for-defence-research

Projectiles for Increased Long-range effects Using electroMagnetic

railgun (PILUM)

Under the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR), the grant for the Research

Action call on the topic ‘PADR-FDDT-EMERGING-03-2019’, subtopic (4) ‘Long-range

effects’ was signed on 30 March 2021. The awarded project, called PILUM, is led by

the Institut Franco-Allemand de Recherches de Saint Louis (France). The consortium

encompasses a total of 7 participants from 4 countries. The project, which has a

duration of 24 months, will receive an EU grant of roughly €1.5 million.

PADR Call FDDT-EMERGING-03-2019 – Information on the awarded project

Name of the project Projectiles for Increased Long-range effects Using

electroMagnetic railgun

Short name PILUM

Summary of the project

This project is a feasibility study on the use of the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) as a long-range artillery system. Due to the significantly higher projectile velocities that can be achieved with an EMRG compared to conventional artillery, strike distances up to 200 km and above can be envisaged. The combination of both the EMRG and novel hypervelocity projectiles results in the disruptive concept of a future complementary artillery system. The project will further examine the possibility of integrating the EMRG into terrestrial and naval platforms.

Project duration 24 months

Starting date 01 April 2021

Maximum foreseen EU Contribution € 1.498.822,50

List of participants

# Name of the entity Country EU Contribution

requested by the

entity1

1 INSTITUT FRANCO-ALLEMAND DE RECHERCHES DE

SAINT LOUIS France € 418.680,00

2 DIEHL DEFENCE GMBH & CO. KG Germany € 339.505,00

3 ERDYN CONSULTANTS France € 68.750,00

4 Zaklad Technologii Wysokoenergetycznych

Explomet Galka, Szulc Spolka jawna Poland € 154.437,50

5 NAVAL GROUP France € 173.000,00

6 NEXTER SYSTEMS France € 276.950,00

7 INSTITUT VON KARMAN DE DYNAMIQUE DES

FLUIDES Belgium € 67.500,00

1 The amount of EU contribution as included in the Grant Agreement. Final amounts need to be confirmed at the end of the project.

PILUM PROJECT - PROJECTILES FOR INCREASED LONG-RANGE EFFECTS USING ELECTROMAGNETIC RAILGUN

Participating Members

The PILUM project will provide a first proof-of-concept of the electromagnetic railgun as a long-range artillery system. Due to the significantly higher projectile velocities that can be achieved with a railgun compared to conventional artillery, strike distances up to 200 km and above can be envisaged. The combination of both the railgun and novel hypervelocity projectiles results in the disruptive concept of a future complementary artillery system for cost-effective long-range precision strike. In fact, there is a gap between current powder artilleries and missile system families in terms of both range and cost. The electromagnetic railgun system could fill this gap and become the most cost-effective solution. In this context PILUM will further examine the possibility of integrating the railgun system into various mobile platforms with emphasis on both naval and terrestrial applications.

The PILUM consortium is composed of highly experienced partners in their respective fields. It combines the skills of leading missile and artillery systems manufacturers (Nexter, Diehl), system integrators (Naval Group, Nexter, Diehl), scientific background of Research&Technology organisations (ISL – electromagnetic railgun and energy conversion, VKI - aerothermodynamics) and high-tech Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (Explomet). Skills and expertise of the partners are highly complementary.

ObjectivesThe project duration of PILUM is 24 months. It started on 1st April 2021and consists of five technical-operational work packages.The first work package (WP1) is dedicated to identifying both the concepts of use and the high-level requirements for the electromagnetic railgun system. A list of scenarios will be presented to the end-users group for validation. The objective of the second work package (WP2) is to demonstrate in a credible and viable way that a hypervelocity projectile can actually be launched by an electromagnetic railgun. In the third work package (WP3), the best energy conversion system for feeding the railgun will be assessed. The fourth work package (WP4) will focus on the design of the hypervelocity projectile that has to sustain the very high initial velocities after the launch. Finally, the fifth work package (WP5) will address the system integration aspects on a platform. Special emphasis will be placed on the evaluation of the electromagnetic compatibility at close distance to the railgun and its energy conversion system.

Work StrandsThe following three technical work packages will contribute to the design and development of the key subsystems of PILUM: railgun (WP2), energy conversion (WP3), projectile (WP4).The scenarios found in the first work package provide the basic input parameters for designing a projectile (WP4). Numerical simulation, wind tunnel tests and free field tests will be performed to determine a first design of the hypervelocity projectile. Based upon these very first design parameters, the work on the railgun layout will start in work package 2. Simulation models and experiments with currently available laboratory railguns will determine the gun size and the energy needs, which in turn, will be used for the design of the energy conversion part (WP3). Novel material layer combinations will be manufactured and tested with regards to their specific purpose, in order to reduce the weight and size of the components or to increase life-time. .

Consortia/Organization

Way AheadThe overall objective of PILUM is to investigate theoretically and experimentally the feasibility of the electromagnetic railgun and its hypervelocity projectiles through an insightful and instructive study. One essential objective will consist in establishing a long-term roadmap able to indicate the way towards a full-scale demonstrator of the whole railgun system for long-range indirect fire applications (Technology readiness level TRL6: technology demonstrated in relevant environment). It is intended that a follow up R&T project will help to build the demonstrator after the end of the current project. Each of the main components of the railgun system (projectile, energy conversion and the railgun itself) encounters technical challenges, involving particular research efforts, e.g. high electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical loads and stresses. These challenges can be best solved by a multitude of partners having complementary skills as it is the case in the PILUM project. The consortium is confident to maintain its links beyond the end of the project, aiming to become part of a wider European pool of expertise and to benefit from the synergies of a European research network.

Link to TBBs and CapTechs - CapTech Missiles and Munitions: OSRA TBB15, “Railgun Weapon” - CapTech Components: OSRA TBB44, “High voltage SiC and related energy storage for pulsed power applications”

Electromagnetic railgun (left), inductive pulsed power supply (centre), hypervelocity projectile (right)

Possible mission scenarios of the electromagnetic railgunin a naval environment

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Preparatory Action on Defence Research under grant agreement No 884184 – PILUM

Bernhard Reck | bernhard.reck@isl.eu

Contact