Railgun pulse power modules delivered to U.S. Navy

TEWKSBURY, Mass., May 24 (UPI) -- Deliveries of pulse power containers for the U.S. Navy's railgun program have been initiated by Raytheon.

The containers with multiple pulsed power modules will be integrated into the Navy's railgun test range for additional development and testing, the company said.

The railgun uses electromagnetic force to propel a projectile instead of explosives. A jolt of 32 megajoules would propel a shell at a speed of Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound.

"Directed energy has the potential to redefine military technology beyond missiles and our pulse power modules and containers will provide the tremendous amount of energy required to power applications like the Navy Railgun," said Colin Whelan, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business. "Raytheon's engineering and manufacturing expertise uniquely position us to support next generation weapon systems to meet the ever-evolving threat."

Raytheon said its pulse power container design comes from work under an initial $10 million contract with U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.

Raytheon is one of three contractors developing a PPC design for the U.S. Navy.