Navy testing railgun launcher

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A prototype electromagnetic railgun launcher built for the U.S. Navy by General Atomics is to undergo testing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

The Navy said delivery of the prototype last month represents "the next step toward a future tactical system that will be placed on board a ship someday."

The EM Railgun launcher fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants. Utilizing the magnetic fields created by high electrical currents to accelerate the armature placed between two rails, the weapon launches a projectile at speeds of 4,500-5,600 mph.

Last year an EM Railgun laboratory demonstrator fired a shot with 33 megajoules of energy. One megajoule is the equivalent of car weighing 1 ton traveling 100 mph.

The Navy said the new demonstrator features advanced composites and improved barrel life performance.

"This industry prototype represents a step beyond our previous successful demonstrations of the laboratory launcher," said Roger Ellis, program manager of EM Railgun.

The Navy envisions an initial capability for the railgun to launch a projectile as far as 115 miles, with later expansion to 253 miles.

The Office of Naval Research recently contracted Raytheon, BAE Systems and General Atomics to develop a pulsed power system for launching projectiles in rapid succession.