“We were launching hypersonic bricks at Mach 5, Mach 6″

Here’s an exclusive Defense Tech video giving you an update on General Atomics’ high-speed railgun project. Last summer, General Atomics and Boeing tested a high-speed sabot round to replace the “hypersonic bricks” (which tended to tumble out of control) that the company had been firing from the gun, says General Atomics’ Tom Hurn. The sabot round went seven kilometers downrange after punching through a 1/8-inch thick steel plate. General Atomics officials estimate that they could install the weapon on a DDG-51 class destroyer by the end of the decade, according to Hurn.

April 14th, 2011 | Fire for Effect, Money Money Money, Navy, Video Lounge | 72 Comments