Electromagnetic Railgun In Navy Testing Shoots Projectiles 7 Times The Speed Of Sound (VIDEO)

An image taken from a video of an electromagnetic railgun prototype firing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Railguns are not just the stuff of science fiction and videogames.

The U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that it's testing a prototype of an electromagnetic railgun that can fire a 40-pound projectile at 5,600 miles per hour, which is more than seven times the speed of sound, the Associated Press reports.

VIDEO OF RAILGUN TEST ABOVE

Unlike conventional guns, railgun shells are not propelled by gunpowder. Instead, rapidly charged electromagnets force the shell out of the barrel, AOL Defense's Otto Kreisher explains.

According to the Office of Naval Research, railguns mounted on ships would not only provide support for land missions, but also defend against missile strikes and deter adversaries.

The Navy said earlier this month that the railguns will initially have a range of between 57 and 115 miles, but the Navy is hoping to extend the range up to around 250 miles.

Currently, Navy warships are equipped with guns that can reach targets at a range of about 15 miles, according to AOL Defense.

The Navy has been testing various versions of the railgun for at least seven years at a cost of around $240 million. While the latest prototype, which was delivered in January, is the closest to an actual weapon, it will be in testing for at least five more years before being used in the field, according to Wired's Spencer Ackerman.

The 32-megajoule prototype railgun built by defense contractor BAE Systems packs a punch that would make any conventional gun jealous.

According to the Office Of Naval Research, "One megajoule of energy is equivalent to a 1-ton car being thrust at 100 mph."

Watching the above video, one might wonder why a gun that uses electromagnetic energy instead of gunpowder or rocket fuel still produces flames. InnovationNewsDaily explains:

The flames that appear in the new video of the test firing come from a combination of electricity arcing across the launcher, shavings of aluminum reacting with the air, and the bullet's hypersonic flight, said Tom Boucher, test director for the railgun at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virg.

Read more about the railgun at AOL Defense, and for a detailed history of the railgun -- and the legislation surrounding it -- click over to Wired's Danger Room.

Comments

[Abdul Wahab Malik]

07:20 AM on 06/11/2012

I tried to go to the NSWC back when they were putting the 16 inch guns back in operation, pretty cool to watch being fired.
I do wonder what kind of metal in the projectile to keep it from melting at those speeds.

[Samwise1948]

06:53 PM on 03/14/2012

Where can I get one?

[Llib Noswad]

11:09 AM on 03/12/2012

When will they be available for deer hunting?

[banker67]

07:27 AM on 03/12/2012

Why publicize this now?
It's probably just as well that the taxpayers are given at least some idea how the military burns up most of our taxes, but what, specifically, was the thinking behind releasing this clip?
Will it encourage unemployed men to join the Navy? Is it to be used in some GOP campaign ad? Or is it just another PR show to prove to kids that guns are neato, and really big guns are really really neato?

[sallybutt45]

10:52 AM on 03/12/2012

Yes, it's like the military and Blackwater that put out those video games that simulate war, with built in chips that keep track of the players ability and speed at " killing".Those are the kids they will "recruit" whe their volunteer numbers start waning. I have been saying this for years, and firmly believe it.

[nrasmussen]

09:14 PM on 03/22/2012

It's people like you that bring disgrace to intelligent conspiracy theorists. And for the record, there has been a clip of the navy's laboratory built test firing for at least a year or so. This is just the first industry built railgun. Also, this is more than just a big gun. As you should have read in the article, it can expand firing range for naval ships by twenty times what they are now. That's pretty useful if you ask me.

[Beercandyman]

05:34 PM on 03/09/2012

Maybe someone can use this technology in the next Punkin Chunkin contest.

[BadgersBite]

04:41 PM on 03/08/2012

They work in space too right?

[dlb4900]

02:53 PM on 03/14/2012

they would work better in space

[TheGnome]

08:58 PM on 03/14/2012

Not only that it would be a good way to get cargo into space cheaply.

[CSKAP]

12:31 PM on 03/06/2012

How long before the NRA is complaining they don’t have them for “citizens”?
I used to go to the NSWC back when they were putting the 16 inch guns back in operation, pretty cool to watch being fired.
I do wonder what kind of metal in the projectile to keep it from melting at those speeds.

[nrasmussen]

09:19 PM on 03/22/2012

Citizens are allowed to build one if they want. Good luck though. A measly 1KJ railgun is all I've been up to building, but when you get into the higher energies, it takes more than a big capacitor bank (which will be expensive in the first place, sufficient pulse capacitors can run you up to $2000 each).

[nrasmussen]

09:21 PM on 03/22/2012

Actually, for information, listen to UnderTheHedgeWeGo. He knows his stuff.

[joszacem]

09:44 AM on 03/06/2012

Whats scary is these could be used as nuclear reactor busters. That high velocity would allow the projectile to punch thru the shell of the reactor and break containment.

[pixeloid]

11:16 PM on 03/05/2012

I'm reminded of the hit man in Johnny Dangerously. "Check out my gun: it's an 88 magnum. It shoots through schools."

[pixeloid]

11:13 PM on 03/05/2012

Why such an oddly shaped projectile? I've always seen cylindrical ones before.

[acidfree]

07:06 PM on 03/08/2012

the unaerodynamic projectile is used to ensure that if it were to go off course it wouldn't travel far enough to destroy/injure civilians.

[Galaxie]

08:28 PM on 03/04/2012

Free Electron Laser is the way to go..

[superducky951]

01:48 AM on 03/04/2012

if you closely. Around 34 seconds it bends the light around it's self. causing the image to refract the image or if you must know bend it.

[Robert Lovelace]

01:09 AM on 03/04/2012

It looks ready for a trial run. Can we input the coordinates to Justin Beiber's house to test it?

[bbriani3842]

07:46 PM on 03/04/2012

I was thinking Rush Limbaugh ... but he'll do.

[Henrik Knutsen]

06:02 PM on 03/06/2012

Well i was thinking of the pope (did i write that wrong?) and every church

[jackscram]

07:06 PM on 03/02/2012

Reach out and touch someone really, really fast.

[UnderTheHedgeWeGo]

06:51 PM on 03/02/2012

I worked on some energy storage devices for rail guns years ago. A naval officer explained to me that one of the advantages of the rail gun was that the speed of the projectile gave you a significant advantage when defending against an income anti-ship missile. By the time you identify the threat, position the gun (of whatever type),lock on to the target and begin firing, the travel speed of the projectile to the target can make the difference in destroying the missile before it arrives.

[Coasterr]

11:54 PM on 03/02/2012

How do you store megajoules?

[Nikuman]

11:04 AM on 03/03/2012

Flux capacitors?

[UnderTheHedgeWeGo]

02:03 PM on 03/03/2012

I was making large (4m dia) Dewars that that held superconducting coils immersed in liquid Helium. My job was to build the cryostat, how much energy could be stored and discharged was someone else's problem. I always wondered how they were going to keep a huge superconducting coil working in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.