How it started:

How it's going:

Japan says it successfully test fired its medium-caliber maritime electromagnetic railgun via an offshore platform. According to its Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), this was the first time any country had accomplished such a goal. The test would be an important step forward for the technology, with Japan aiming to utilize it both at sea and on land.

A new era for naval combat!

The railgun uses a pair of parallel conductors (rails), along which a sliding armature is accelerated by the electromagnetic effects of a current that flows down one rail, into the armature and then back along the other rail.

TRANSLATION: MAGNETIC SLINGSHOT:

According to one analysis, a railgun offers "velocities much higher than can be achieved with conventional guns," which means "improved accuracy and longer range."

Imagine getting hit by that sucker. As you exploded into a million pieces at multiple times the speed of sound, you'd probably think it was overkill.

The lack of a necessary cartridge makes the weapon slimmer and less resource-intensive. It can offer a faster rate of fire. And "the absence of combustible propellant means increased survivability" of the weapon itself.

Sadly, the US Navy dropped funding for its own railgun program back in 2021.

At least Japan is picking up the slack!

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