01/02/2011 – The Office of Naval Research Electromagnetic Railgun located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, fired a world-record setting 33 mega-joule shot, breaking the previous record established Jan. 31, 2008. The railgun is a long-range, high-energy gun launch system that uses electricity rather than gunpowder or rocket motors to launch projectiles capable of striking a target at a range of more than 200 nautical miles with Mach 7 velocity. The railgun is being developed for use on a wide range of ships, whether the vessel has an integrated power system, such as DDG 1000, or a non-integrated power system such as DDG 51. A future tactical railgun will hit targets at ranges almost 20 times farther than conventional surface ship combat systems.
[slidepress gallery=’electromagnetic-railgun-project-breaks-world-record’]
Credit: Navy Visual News Service, 12/10/10
- The first photo shows a high-speed camera image of the Office of Naval Research Electromagnetic Railgun located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, firing a world-record setting 33 mega-joule shot, breaking the previous record established Jan. 31, 2008.
- The second photo shows the railgun and the second shows Charles Garnett, left, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Electromagnetic Railgun project manager, briefs Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, Brian Persons, NAVSEA deputy commander, and Rear Adm. James Shannon, commander of Naval Warfare Centers, following the world record-setting 33 mega-joule shot of the Office of Naval Research Railgun.