Monday, April 24, 2017

The U.S. Navy's New Railgun Is Ready

Artist's rendering of a railgun mounted on USNS Millinocket. Image source: U.S. Navy.

Motley Fool: Navy's New Mach 6 EM Railgun Almost Ready for Prime Time

The latest railgun test suggests the Navy could be moving closer to deployment.

For more than three years now, I've been tracking the U.S. Navy's progress toward building a working electromagnetic railgun prototype -- a Mach 6 cannon reputedly capable of striking targets 110 miles away with pinpoint accuracy.

Each railgun projectile would cost about $25,000 to produce -- and if you're keeping track, then yes, success on the railgun project would yield a weapon boasting nearly twice the 67-mile range of Boeing's (NYSE:BA) Harpoon II missile but costing just 1/48th the Boeing missile's $1.2 million cost.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Its field tests should begin later this year.

3 comments:

RussInSoCal said...

Well if you see large, shrouded sections of deck on CVN Ford or DDG Zumwalt, you'll know what it is.

Anonymous said...

It won't be mounted on any ship for testing if that ship might see actual combat in that time. It will be on a ship used in an area that will not see combat at that time. Even if other weapon systems are present. .that thing also takes up space

Anonymous said...

That beast leaves a big, ole hunkin' footprint,