More powerful than a powder launcher, as easy to use as a gas launcher: that’s one way to describe our H3G®. Based on gas-combustion technology, it can carry out impact tests up to 3 km/s without any pyrotechnic constraints. The absence of pyrotechnic materials simplifies setup and operation, since only the “hydrogen” regulation applies.
H3G® stands out with performance superior to powder launchers, including:
- Muzzle velocities that can exceed 3 km/s;
- Muzzle gases that are neither toxic nor corrosive;
- A lower wall temperature inside the launcher, resulting in reduced tube wear;
- No muzzle flame, which facilitates the use of optical measurement systems (impossible with powder guns);
- Faster launcher cleaning: no post-combustion soot, and water marks are easily removed by wiping.
Impact tests on concrete: highly conclusive results
Our H3G® 60 mm launcher once again demonstrated its versatility, this time for participants of the Aeroballistic Range Association (ARA) gathered at the Poséidon laboratory of Thiot Ingénierie.
The launcher only needed to be charged to half its maximum pressure to fire a 3.5 kg steel penetrator into a concrete cylinder at 770 m/s and perforate 1 m of the target’s concrete. Thanks to the R&D team’s modeling work and improved understanding of the physical phenomena, the numerical model was successfully recalibrated to produce results matching the experimental observations.
After numerous light firings already carried out with the H3G® 60 mm, the launcher confirms its versatility: by itself it can perform shots that would normally have required both an inert-gas launcher and a powder launcher, while ensuring clean and safe operation.
