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?
The projectile continued 7km downrange after punching through a piece of 1/8" steel at 100 yards.