Feb 8, 2018
China may be testing a ship-mounted electromagnetic railgun.
Leaked photos posted on Twitter last week have revealed what appears to be the massive, hypersonic weapon atop a People’s Liberation Army Navy tank landing ship.
While the US has spent millions of dollars and the better part of a decade working to develop a railgun, recent reports suggest the efforts may have been scrapped.
If China truly is testing a ship-mounted railgun, the move would make it the first to develop a superweapon of this kind.
China may be testing a ship-mounted electromagnetic railgun. Leaked photos posted on Twitter last week have revealed what appears to be the massive, hypersonic weapon atop a People’s Liberation Army Navy tank landing ship
Railguns have long been touted as one of the future technologies of warfare, with the ability to launch projectiles at Mach 6 – or, more than 4,500 miles per hour.
Because the missile is fired using kinetic energy this eliminates the risks associated with keeping explosives on a ship.
It has been described by the US Navy as a ‘true warfighter game changer.’
The photos shared by Twitter user Dafeng Cao show what appears to be a railgun atop the Haiyang Shan ship, according to Ars Technica.
