A new weapon system designed to defeat Russian tanks in Europe

National Interests:

The technology sounds like a lethal Rube Goldberg machine: an electrical circuit generates high voltage pulses, that ignites a plasma cartridge that then triggers explosives to propel projectiles at extreme velocity. But this technology, referred to as an Electro-Thermal Chemical (ETC) gun, might be NATO’s silver bullet when it comes to penetrating the next generation of advanced Russian tanks. ETC guns could also be employed in a naval role to allow more accurate and longer ranged naval fires than possible with conventional munitions, at far lower costs than the railgun. The roots of ETC guns are based in Cold War studies for methods to counter the ever-increasing levels of protection that were expected to be found on future Soviet tanks. According to threat reports at the time, the protection levels of Soviet tanks that were expected to be fielded in the mid 1990s would outclass all fielded anti-tank projectiles.

To counter this, research began in the 1980s into pure electric gun technology such as railguns. However, due to the immense power demand for such systems, these soon fell out of favor. ETC guns evolved out of this as a way to get performance increases with less demand for electrical power. ETC guns were considered a medium-risk technology, between larger conventional tank guns and railgun technology, as it incorporated elements of both. They also are more adaptable to current projectile and gun designs, as they use conventional projectile and gun designs.

So how do ETC guns work? In an ETC gun, the firing sequence starts when an electrical pulsed power system (PPS) sends a strong electrical pulse into the ETC gun. This pulse triggers the plasma igniters, which turns the electrical pulse into plasma. The blazing hot plasma, burning at more than 400 degrees Celsius, acts as a catalyst for the ignition of the propellant. The extremely energetic nature of the plasma results in a stronger and more drawn out detonation of the propellant in an ETC gun cartridge than in a cartridge triggered by conventional means. In some ETC gun systems, the PPS will continue to fire electrical pulses that trigger further “waves” of plasma, ignition, and pressure, increasing the power of the gun even more. The resulting effect is higher pressure, which means higher muzzle velocity and energy. Practically, this means that the gun will punch through thicker armor and shoot further and more accurately.
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I think this weapon system would be much more mobile than current models of the railgun.  Railguns are more likely to be used on a large ship that would have access to an adequate power source and of course mobility on the sea.  The article lays out some other advantages to the ETC system including more stable ammo than current systems used on tanks.