http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080201/sc_livescience/navytestsincrediblescifiweapon
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.com Fri Feb 1, 12:51 PM
ET
The U.S.
Navy yesterday test fired an incredibly powerful new big gun
designed to replace conventional weaponry aboard ships. Sci-fi fans
will recognize its awesome power and futuristic technology.
The big gun uses electromagnetic energy instead of explosive
chemical propellants to fire a projectile farther and faster. The
railgun, as it is called, will ultimately fire a projectile more
than 230 miles (370 kilometers) with a muzzle velocity seven times
the
speed of sound (Mach 7) and a velocity of
Mach 5 at impact.
The test-firing,
captured on video, took place Jan. 31 in
Dahlgren, Va., and Navy officials called it the
"world's most powerful electromagnetic railgun."
The Navy's current MK 45 five-inch gun, by contrast, has a range
of less than 23 miles (37 kilometers).
The railgun has been a featured weapon in many science fiction
universes, such as the new "Battlestar Galactic" series. It has
also achieved newfound popularity among the 20-something-and-under
generation for its devastating ability to instantaneously shoot a
"slug" through walls and through multiple enemies in video games
such as the "Quake" series of first person shooters.
The Navy's motivation? Simple destruction.
The railgun's high-velocity projectile will destroy targets with
sheer kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.
"I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I
always want them to have the advantage," said Chief of Naval
Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. "We should never lose sight of
always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our
capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on
the battlefield."
The railgun's lack of explosives means ships would be safer,
said Elizabeth D'Andrea, Electromagnetic Railgun Program
Manager.
The Navy's goal is to demonstrate a full-capability prototype by
2018.
