Navy unveils its latest killing machine: The electromagnetic railgun that can shoot at seven times the SPEED OF SOUND

Railguns use electromagnetic force to rapidly accelerate projectiles

They fire rounds with such force no high explosive charge is needed

Tests have successful fired projectiles through six half-inch steel plates



The U.S. Navy is to usher in a new era in maritime warfare with the first sea tests of a fearsome weapon that fires shells at seven times the speed of sound.

Capable of hurling projectiles at an incredible 5,400mph, high-energy electromagnetic railguns, long a staple of science fiction, promise to revolutionize warfare.

Until now the immense power needed for such a weapon has been out of reach. But this week Navy officials announced that they plan to install and test a prototype on a ship within the next two years.



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Fearsome: A projectile emerges from the breach of a railgun with an attendant ball of fire

Very, very fast: EM railgun technology uses an electromagnetic force - known as the Lorenz Force - to rapidly accelerate a projectile between two conductive rails before launching it at ferocious speed.

'An electromagnetic rail gun is a gun that uses just electricity - no gun powder - and, oh, by the way, can shoot a projectile well over 100 miles at Mach 7,' Rear Admiral Matt Klunder, Chief of Naval Research, told CBS News.

'Energetic weapons, such as EM railguns, are the future of naval combat,' he added. 'The U.S. Navy is at the forefront of this game-changing technology.'

EM railgun technology uses an electromagnetic force - known as the Lorenz Force - to rapidly accelerate a projectile between two conductive rails before launching it at ferocious speed.

The incredible velocities possible mean that they can fire further than conventional guns and maintain enough kinetic energy that they need no explosive payload to inflict tremendous damage on their targets.

The Navy's demonstration video shows how the projectiles can penetrate three reinforced concrete walls. Other tests have fired railgun shells through six half-inch thick steel plates.

The Navy expects the weapons to be effective against a number of different enemies, including warships and small boats, aircraft, incoming missiles and even targets for bombardment on land.

'The electromagnetic railgun represents an incredible new offensive capability for the U.S. Navy,' said Rear Admiral Bryant Fuller, the Navy's chief engineer.

'This capability will allow us to effectively counter a wide-range of threats at a relatively low cost, while keeping our ships and sailors safer by removing the need to carry as many high-explosive weapons.'

What's more, once research is complete, railguns are expected to be far cheaper to use than comparable missile weapons.

It is hoped that they will be able to use the same shells as some current powder guns, enabling commanders to keep expensive missiles in reserve for use against 'more complex threats', as the Navy puts it.

Strike: The Navy expects the weapons to be effective against a number of different enemies, including warships and small boats, aircraft, incoming missiles and even targets for bombardment on land

Ready for testing: The first sea trials of the new railguns will take place in fiscal year 2016 aboard a cargo ship specially adapted for the purpose, like this artist's impression

Railguns were first conceived of nearly a century ago and patented by French inventor Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee. Nazi Germany took up the research during the Second World War and adapted its anti-aircraft guns.

The project was never completed, however, and after the plans were discovered and studied by Allied scientists it was concluded that each gun would need enough power to light half of Chicago.

Nevertheless, research into the weapons continued in the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union, with several prototypes developed. The U.S. military is the first to test railguns in anything approaching real-life conditions.

The hyper-velocity projectiles weigh around 10kg each and cost $25,000, a size and cost which means that a well-resourced navy could store them aboard ships by the hundreds.