Pentagon Hopes Its Supergun Will Help to Counter Russia, China
SputnikNews.com
29.05.2016
It might not look as impressive as the F-35 fighter jet or the Zumwalt-class destroyer, but US defense officials insist that the Navy’s newest weapon, the railgun, will not only become a force to be reckoned with – it will change the way we fight and alter the balance of power in the world as a result. Russian experts remain unconvinced.
The railgun’s capabilities are impressive. It can fire a projectile at an initial speed of 4,500 miles an hour, piercing seven steel plates and leave a 5-inch hole, Julian E. Barnes wrote for the Wall Street Journal. The weapon has a maximum range of 125 miles.
Although the railgun, in development for a decade, transforms a 25-pound projectile into nothing short of a battlefield meteorite obliterating anything on its path, the weapon does not use gunpowder or any explosives. It is instead powered by electromagnetic rails.
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