6 years, 3 months ago

What exactly is a railgun, and do we need to start building bunkers again?

Earlier this week, a prominent Weibo defence blogger posted an image that appeared to be a Chinese naval warship carrying an electromagnetic railgun. Key points: The gun uses the power of a neighbourhood to fire one shot at 2.5 kilometres per second China appears to be testing railgun technology on warships Previous prototypes have been too large and energy-hungry to be practical at sea The velocity of railgun projectiles allows them to slice through ships. "I like to think of it as similar to when a dodgy electrician is trying to change a lightbulb who gets blown off their chair," said Dr Jai Galliott, Leader of the Values in Defence & Security Technology Group within the University of New South Wales's School of Engineering and Information Technology at the Australian Defence Force Academy. "The science is pretty straightforward, but the issue is that the railgun calls for huge energy generation, and of course, power is pretty scant at sea," Dr Galliott said. But in the case of the railgun, officials at the Australian Navy will not have to fret just yet, as China's touted "ship destroying" technology is even viewed with scepticism back home.

ABC
Technology China Defence Navy Power Ships Chinese Us Navy Pla Dr Galliott Hvp Railgun Galliott
China closer to equipping warships with railguns, state media reports
6 years, 3 months ago

China closer to equipping warships with railguns, state media reports

CNN
China

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