FIRE!: The U.S. Navy's Railgun May Soon See Testing On a Real Warship

Task and Purpose

Security,

A turning point? 

With tensions between the United States and China at an unusual high amid increasing freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea, the Navy may end up needing all the firepower it can get — or at least the perception that it's actually holding its own in the new directed energy arms race.

After more than a decade of research and development and upwards of $500 million in funding, the Navy finally plans on testing its much-hyped electromagnetic railgun on a surface warship in a major milestone for the beleaguered weapons system, Navy documents reveal.

The Navy's latest Northwest Training and Testing draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Assessment (NWTT EIS/OEIS), first detailed by the Seattle Times on Friday, reveals that " the kinetic energy weapon (commonly referred to as the rail gun) will be tested aboard surface vessels, firing explosive and non-explosive projectiles at air- or sea-based targets."

"The system charges for two minutes and fires in less than one second," the 1,800-page assessment states. "The system is shielded so as not to affect shipboard controls and systems. The amount of electromagnetic energy released from this system is low and contained on the surface vessel."