US Navy developing a super powerful Railgun
March 1st, 2012 - 12:01 am ICT by Aishwarya BhattLos Angeles, Feb 29 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The US army’s vision to have electromagnetic superweapons for the navy by the year 2020 is very much on course. The making of the futuristic weapon, which is expected to increase the US’ dominance on the sea, reached a major milestone when the first prototype was tested.
The Navy believes that the Railguns will help them take out enemy ships and hit targets on land. This will go a long way to help marines in offensive against enemy countries.
The prototype is being tested and the phase will last until 2017. The vision is that the weapon will be able to fire 40-pound projectiles to distances of over 10 to 100 miles. The weapon will also be able to shoot at speed of 5,600 mph. the gun should also be able to fire 10 guided projectiles per second at the max speed.
The gun is being manufactured by BAE Systems. The program manager for the railgun at the Office of Naval Research, Roger Ellis, told reporters that, “There is potential to replace the 5-inch gun, but it would do far more.”
General Atomics is making another prototype of the gun and it will be ready for testing in April.
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