Railgun for the Navy
by
Nicholas C
Published: April 9th, 2014
The Navy is testing an electromagnetic rail gun that can hurl a 23lb projectile over Mach 7.
More information can be found here.
Here is a test video of the gun and what the projectile can do.
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I'm rather sceptical of all these new-fangled railguns actually. You may call me old fashioned, but the reality as I see it is that these cost so much over what we currently can use that it is not likely to validate a replacement.
By my (admittedly rough) maths, you would have a range of approximately 140km, similar to a Harpoon in land attack, but with a round that is so small and compact that ammo is not likely to be a problem, which is a good thing, but what about the under deck support needed for it? Not only weight, but also power generation. What do you need to power that gun? Nuclear? Or can Diesel powered generators do the trick? And at what cost?
And why the JHSV? Wasn't the original plan to use the Zumwalts as tech testbeds? Or too expensive again?
I am happy to see this invention leap from Science Fiction to New Super Weapon. Okay, you hit Mach 7, and use a sabot round. What kind of range does it have? Can you shoot a satellite out in space?