Railguns are cool tech with lots of applications.
Shouldn’t this be classified, at least Secret? Why is this Admiral talking about it?
If your ammunition is a block of metal, the explosions just don't happen. That's a plus.
Modern ships, like the Zumwalt-class destroyers were designed to use railguns. The platforms and the guns were put on separate development paths with the expectation that they would reach fruition pretty much simultaneously.
And here we are.
This gun doesn’t work on land? In Space?
I’d bet that thing would do one hell of a job against enemy ships too. Would probably go through the hull of a ship like a hot knife through butter.
Get a look at the photos of the vessel they’re installing the test model on. This thing is HUGE.
Gonna have some B F Capacitors for that baby!
Its pretty cool sounding, but doesn’t have much range. Rail gun vs. aircraft carrier, cruise missle, ICBM, or land aircraft would have the rail gun lose.
The return of the battleship?
What would happen to a rail-gun if a powerful EMP went off nearby?
Cool new military weaponry ping.
Don’t worry, Obama or Hagel will cancel it.
Perhaps, but an arrow from a longbow, a BB from a BB gun, a rock from a sling, etc, etc, all fire projectiles into the atmosphere.
Mr. Klunder might be a little more precise.
I carry a secret weapon with me all the time that's capable of projecting a brick into the atmosphere. My left hand. I can launch that brick well into the atmosphere - at least 5 feet.
If they can make a big one, they can make a small one.
No reason not to replace the AA too.
The folks at ONR got their expensive rail gun to fire and proved it can work. That being said, is it a practical weapon?
1. What are its power and cooling requirements?
2. Can it fire repetitive shots?
3. What is the time between shots?
4. Do the high electrical current and excessive heat cause damage to the launcher?
5. How do you target the objective of this round at 100 to 200 miles from the launch point? [There is no fire control system on any ship that can do this. Therefore, you’ll need a drone or satellite to do targeting. What if neither is available?]
6. How do you guide the projectile to the target in real time?
7. The JHSV is going to need LOTS of generating capacity to power this beast. I’m also betting it will need major surgery to install the coolant lines (and storage?) for the EMRG. Is the JHSV a suitable ship for the EMRG?
8. The bottom line is this is a “bridge too far”?
9. Assuming we could get this EMRG to work and solving the targeting problem, what are we going to shoot at? Are we going to target a truck, APC, or a tank? A building or bunker? What’s the destructive capability of the EMRG projectile? Why do we need this solution when we have the ability to do the same thing with conventional launch platforms — and cheaper?