Ashton Firm Developing

Advanced Gun Technology

By PAUL DARST

pdarst@statejournal.com

ASHTON — Guns have changed little since the Europeans invented them in the 13^th century.

They have grown larger have become more powerful, but the basic principle behind them has remained essentially the same: exploding gunpowder pushes a projectile out of a barrel and on to the target.

But a firm with two locations in West Virginia is working to change that. For the past five years, technicians at Utron Inc. in Ashton have been developing a combustion light gas gun, a cutting-edge weapon that soon could be used on U.S. Navy ships, said Dave Kruczynski, vice president of defense systems. A few months ago, the firm opened an office in Montgomery where engineers are exploring ways to integrate the gun system onto naval vessels.

Utron started working on the concept about 10 years ago, he said. The company purchased the Ashton site from General Dynamics Corp. five years ago, and started testing soon thereafter.

The concept for such a weapon originated in the 1980s as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, which required a high-velocity gun that could shoot down missiles, Kruczynski said. Utron’s work is an extension of that concept.

During the past five years, Utron workers have conducted tests on a -mm version of the gun. But they are nearly ready to begin testing the full-scale weapon, which is 155-mm.

At the 300-acre Ashton site, a staff of 35 is working on developing the technology. All parts for the gun are fabricated at the secure site, which is located off of Mason County Road 80 near West Virginia Route 2.

The staff in Montgomery, meanwhile, is working with the West Virginia University Institute of Technology on their part of the project, Kruczynski said.

All of Uton’s research is being conducted in coordination with the Office of Naval Research, representatives from which regularly visit the facilities.

The CLGG uses hydrogen and oxygen as a propellant, he said. Hydrogen and oxygen, which is a type of rocket fuel, are stored separately and pumped into a pressure chamber at the breach-end of the barrel. An igniter causes the mixture to explode, which propels the shell.

The CLGG can fire a bullet at more than 8,000 feet per second. A 5-inch gun used on today’s naval vessels has a maximum velocity of 2,650 feet per second.

The new gun has a much greater range too, he said. Conventional naval artillery can fire projectiles 15 to 20 miles. The CLGG can fire shells in excess of 200 miles, Kruczynski said. Those projectiles can travel so far that they must have global positioning satellite systems and fins that guide them to their targets, he said.

The CLGG is intended to provide long-range shore support for troops, Kruczynski said. In some cases, it could a more effective option than using missiles or aircraft for troop support, he said.

Utron’s system has numerous advantages over missiles, Kruczynski said. It’s cheaper, with shells made for about one-tenth the cost of missiles. The projectiles are faster and reach their maximum velocities almost instantly. CLGG technology is safer because the hydrogen and oxygen that comprise the propellant can be stored separately aboard ship. In the event of a fire or other emergency, it can be pumped off the ship relatively easily, with no negative environmental impact. Finally, the propellant is easily replicated because it is comprised of two common elements.

Kruczynski said that the CLGG technology is close to becoming a reality. The new system could be ready for use within the next five years.

Kruczynski credits Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., for bringing Utron to West Virginia. In the fall of 2006, Byrd added $4.25 million to the Department of Defense budget to help Utron develop a GPS system projectile for the new gun.