Ramjet Powered Missiles And Artillery 

Ramjet Powered Missiles And Artillery 

ramjet missile

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A Norwegian company has been experimenting with ramjet engines to see if they can be utilized to improve military weapons. The company Nammo believes that ramjets can be used to significantly increase the speed and range of tactical missiles and howitzer shells.

Ramjet engines create propulsion by utilizing the engines forward motion to compress the incoming air flow. Ramjets are most efficient when traveling at supersonic speeds, around mach 3, however since ramjets need forward motion to take in air they cannot produce propulsion when motionless. Instead of “fighting” the incoming waves of air pressure, a ramjet engine “consumes” the air, sucking it in and using the oxygen in the air as an oxidizer. The air inside the engine is mixed with fuel and then blasted out the back of the engine, thus generating thrust.

Traditional missiles often use rocket engines that carry both fuel and oxygen. A ramjet engine doesn’t need to carry oxygen since it obtains its oxygen from the air around. Therefore a ramjet powered missile would have more room to carry additional fuel or a larger warhead. Popularmechanics.com reports that ramjet engines could be placed on something that has never had an engine before, such as an artillery shell without changing the projectile’s design too much.

Nammo has completed its first round of ramjet engine testing. The next round of tests will involve firing ramjet powered 155 millimeter artillery rounds.

The company claims that rocket engines are 80% oxidizers and 20% fuel. Ramjet engines don’t carry oxidizers, therefore changing the engine ratio to 100% fuel.

The Norwegian company plans on retrofitting the Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM) surface to air missile with a ramjet engine. Nammo believes that a ramjet engine will increase the missile’s range to over 400 kilometers, 350 kilometers more than the ESSM with traditional rocket engines.

Nammo also believes that they can retrofit 155 millimeter howitzer shells with ramjet engines. The company claims that this will increase a typical artillery shell range from 15 miles to 60 miles.