The Navy has fired the first industry-built electromagnetic railgun (EM Railgun)
prototype launcher at a test facility, commencing an evaluation that is an important
intermediate step toward a future tactical weapon for ships, officials announced
Feb. 28. The firing at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) kicks off a
two- month-long test series by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to evaluate the
first of two industry-built launchers. The EM Railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that fires projectiles using
electricity instead of chemical propellants. Magnetic fields created by high electrical
currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails to
launch projectiles at 4,500 mph to 5,600 mph. After installing the BAE Systems launcher and outfitting it with a comprehensive
suite of sensors, high-speed cameras and measuring devices, engineers fired
successful low-energy test shots to prepare it for the evaluation. When fully developed, the EM Railgun will give Sailors a dramatically increased
multimission capability. Its increased velocity and extended range over traditional
shipboard weapons will allow them to conduct precise, long-range naval surface fire
support for land strikes; ship self-defense against cruise and ballistic missiles; and
surface warfare to deter enemy vessels. The Navy's near-term goal is a 20- to 32-
megajoule weapon that shoots a distance of 50 to 100 nautical miles.
China has developed electromagnetic launch technologies that allow the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to build a futuristic naval weapon - an electromagnetic railgun.
A railgun uses massive electrical pulse, rather than gunpowder or other chemical propellants,...
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) of the United States has demonstrated the electromagnetic railgun initial rep-rate fires of multi-shot salvos at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Wednesday.
Developed by BAE Systems for the...