Electromagnetic railgun video from the Office of Naval Research

A test shot fires from the Office of Naval Research-funded Electromagnetic Railgun prototype launcher located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. The test shots begin a month-long series of full-energy tests to evaluate the technology. This prototype, developed by BAE, is the first of two industry-built launchers that will bring the Department of the Navy a step closer to producing a new-generation, long-range, weapon for surface ships.

USN’s Electromagnetic Railgun Launches 1,000th Projectile

The United States Navy's Electromagnetic Railgun system has been fired for the 1,000th time, bringing the system one step closer to integration on USN warships deployed at sea.

Less than 12 months ago, the railgun established a new world record when it fired a projectile with 33 megajoules of force. Since then, the tests have been ongoing, culminating in the landmark 1,000th launch, which occurred on 31 October.

The 999 previous firings have examined various aspects related to the system's performance, including potential damage caused to it by the massive forces involved when it's in operation.

USN Electromagnetic Railgun

The USN's Electromagnetic Railgun's being put through its paces by scientists working at ONR - the Office of Naval Research.

"A railgun weapons system must be able to launch hundreds of projectiles and withstand extreme pressures, currents and temperatures", Captain Paul Stewart, the US Naval Research Laboratory Materials Testing Facility's Commanding Officer, explained.

"Today's firing of the 1,000th shot demonstrates Navy researchers are steadily progressing toward achieving that goal, developing a more effective and efficient future ship combat system."

US Navy Railgun: Projectile Launch

The US Navy railgun defies the convention set by earlier weapons designs, which typically launch their projectiles with an explosive force. It, by contrast, draws on electromagnetic power to charge a projectile forwards. This launched projectile travels on rails, before leaving the railgun at extreme velocities, up to a maximum of seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7).

"This test demonstrates continued advances in armature development, rail design, and barrel materials used in high power railgun launch", Doctor Robert Meger, who leads the Charged Particle Physics division of ONR, said in a statement. "Firing up to 15 shots per week on the laboratory's experimental railgun, researchers at NRL perform detailed testing and analysis of rails and armatures, providing S&T expertise to the Navy program that is directly applicable to tests at large-scale power levels", he added.

From here on in, the USN will continue to progress the Electromagnetic Railgun concept, despite the chance that its future might be endangered by budget costs.

Railgun image copyright US Navy

Video: Railgun Blasts an Aerodynamic Round Seven Kilometers Through A Steel Plate

This amazing video, created by Defense Tech, shows the latest test of General Atomics' high-speed railgun. Where earlier attempts have fired ungainly missiles that tumbled end-over-end through the air like "hypersonic bricks," this one uses a sabot round, which flies straight and smoothly for a distance of seven kilometers, AFTER punching through a solid steel plate.

Test of Futuristic Railgun A Success: U.S. Navy

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Navy announced a successful test Dec. 10 of an electromagnetic cannon capable of firing a projectile 110 nautical miles at five times the speed of sound.

"This demonstration moves us one day closer to getting this advanced capability to sea," said Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of naval research.

Tested at the Navy's Dahlgren Surface Warfare Center, Va., the futuristic weapon uses powerful jolts of electric current to propel a non-explosive slug along rails before launching it at supersonic velocities.

The latest test involved a 33-megajoule shot, the most powerful ever attempted and three times that of the previous test in January 2008.

A megajoule is equivalent to the energy released when a one-ton vehicle slams into a wall at 100 miles per hour.

"Today's railgun test demonstrates the tactical relevance of this technology, which could one day complement traditional surface ship combat systems," Carr said.

"The 33-megajoule shot means the Navy can fire projectiles at least 110 nautical miles, placing sailors and Marines at a safe standoff distance and out of harm's way."

He added that "the high velocities achievable are tactically relevant for air and missile defense."

The test model bears little resemblance to a gun. Instead, thick black cables plug into the rear of what looks like a long rectangular grill.

That armature holds the rails together as a powerful electric current surges through them, pushing the slug forward.

Related Article

Railgun moves closer to real use

Navy shooting for new world record with test of railgun prototype.

For now, the power of what may prove to be the Navy's most formidable weapon is confined to a research and development lab at the Dahlgren base in King George County.

On Friday, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and BAE Systems will take another step in an ongoing quest to put electromagnetic railguns on ships in the fleet.

About 1 p.m., Navy brass, civilian engineers, contractors and reporters will watch a video feed of a projectile--traveling five times the speed of sound--smashing into a steel box filled with sand.

Until recently, a railgun has been a fantasy weapon for video gamers, the stuff of science fiction.

But the technology has been slowly moving toward reality.

The railgun works by a pulse of electricity traveling along two parallel rails to propel a projectile at tremendous speed.

Friday's shot, expected to use 32 megajoules of electromagnetic energy, is by far the most powerful to date. It will take only a fraction of a second, as long as the blink of an eye. It is expected to establish a new world record in the annals of electromagnetic acceleration.

The goal is to show the tactical relevance of the technology, the Navy said in a press release.

"The importance of the 32-megajoule demonstration is the feasibility of the system at an energy level that has military significance," said Roger Ellis, electromagnetic railgun program manager for the Office of Naval Research.

A megajoule is a measurement of energy associated with an object traveling at a certain speed. For example, a vehicle weighing a ton, moving at 100 mph, equals a megajoule of energy.

The Navy would like to have a fully functional 64-megajoule system aboard a ship by 2025.

A shot of that power could reach a target 100 nautical miles away in a matter of minutes. The projectile would travel so fast that no warhead is needed; kinetic energy is sufficient to destroy its target.

Another advantage is that it is safer for sailors because it uses no explosives.

There are formidable technological challenges. The gun requires huge amounts of electrical power and must be scaled down to fit on ships.

The first test shot was in 2006. Then, in January 2008, a prototype at Dahlgren achieved a shot of 10.6 megajoules, a record.

BAE Systems, a national defense contractor with an office in Stafford County, was awarded a $21 million contract last year to develop the railgun prototype.

NSWC Dahlgren Division is the largest tenant command of the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren.