The Navy announced plans to install and test an electromagnetic railgun aboard a joint high-space vessel by fiscal year 2016.
See: Engineering Update #53: Deploying electromagnetic railguns
Using an electromagnetic force known as the Lorentz Force, the railgun rapidly accelerates and launches a 7 pound projectile at hypersonic speeds up to 2.4 kilometers per second, and the final operational system will be able to fire munitions up to 110 nautical miles.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense