Big Gun

U.S. Army counters rising China threat with 'game changing' super cannon

The White Paper requirement is for a range of 1,000 miles. I can only imagine three ways to achieve that kind of range from an artillery piece: 1) rocket or air-breathing sustainer motors on the shell; 2) a high enough velocity to achieve sub-orbital altitudes, whereupon gravity does the rest; or 3) some combination of 1 & 2.

The logic for developing such a gun is more sound than you might think. The last days of missile- and airplane-based long range striking power are rapidly approaching. The imminent advent of small-caliber, hyper-velocity railguns and DEWs (directed energy weapons such as lasers and particle beams) will mean that by the end of the 21st century, "if it flies, it dies."

In such a strategic and tactical environment, saturation of a target with high-speed artillery shells from across the theater will be one of the very few viable options for long range striking power. Anachronistically, it is entirely possible that in the early 22nd century, two hundred years after World War I, artillery and big gun warships will once again rule the battlefield.

Everything old is new again.