The weapon system fires a non-explosive projectile
Flash Xray composite image of in-flight projectile
Eat your heart out Quake fans
The Naval Surface Warfare Center
played the stage for a demonstration of a new naval weapon. The
8-megajoule railgun was the center of attention on Wednesday, as the navy
demonstrated its power and low cost use. The railgun was designed by General Atomics, a
fission and fusion research company based out of San Diego.
Instead of
using gunpowder, the railgun uses electricity by sending a current along
parallel rails which creates an electromagnetic pulse. The pulse is so
powerful it can file projectiles roughly 200 to 250 nautical miles in about 6
minutes, using the nonexplosive slug weighing about 3.2 kilograms.
After leaving the barrel of the railgun the slug has an estimated launch
altitude of about 500,000
feet or roughly 95 miles at possible Mach 7 speeds. Current conventional guns on Navy vessels
have a maximum range of about 15
miles.
Compared to a Tomahawk missile, which costs upwards of $1 million per missile,
the railgun only has an estimated sub-$1,000-per-shot cost. With the
absence of gunpowder, the railgun is said to be safer to use, eliminating the
possibility of explosions.
According to the Free Lance Star, General
Atomic has obtained the $10 million contract for the production of the railgun.
The field deployment of the weapon is not expected for another 13 years.
In the meantime, General Atomic can start work on higher joule railguns for
farther and quicker targeting and firing. The company claims it will
develop 16 and 32 megajoule variants of the weapon next. Fully deployed
railguns will be rated at approximately 64 megajoules.
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