electromagnetic railgun

How the Navy's super railgun works (animation)

If you want to know how the U.S. Navy's futuristic electromagnetic railgun works, you could hop on over to the information page on the Office of Naval Research's Web site. Or you could watch a monotone Taiwanese animation.

If you're not familiar with the railgun, it's a favorite Navy project that is intended to be able to launch a 5-inch projectile more than 100 miles without the use of traditional explosives. Using a complex system that forces the projectile out of a ship-bound gun at more than 4,500 miles, the Navy hopes to be … Read more

Navy tests railgun that can shoot up to 100 miles

The U.S. Navy says it has tested one of two prototypes of its futuristic electromagnetic railgun, a weapon that could fire a 5-inch projectile up to 100 miles, yet which requires no explosives to fire.

The Office of Naval Research is evaluating competing railguns--one from BAE Systems, and one from General Atomics. Yesterday, ONR announced it has completed a successful test of BAE's model, and the Navy is expected to test-fire General Atomics' offering sometime in April.

"The firing at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division...kicks off a two-month-ling test series by [ONR] to evaluate the … Read more