December 14, 2018
The Navy's Killer Railgun: Is It Happening or Not?
This is what we know.
by Task and Purpose
We have some answers.
The Navy will continue to fund research and development efforts related to the service’s much-hyped electromagnetic railgun but will likely not pursue a shipboard tactical demonstrator, according to sources briefed on the matter, a development that will likely condemn the more than $500 million project to a R&D limbo as the Department of Defense focuses on other directed energy programs.
A special “Innovative Naval Prototypes†line item in the Navy’s fiscal 2019 budget proposal, published on Feb. 12, explicitly sets aside a hefty $45.8 million to “applied research addressing the unique technical challenges inherent in the construction, assembly and operation†of the railgun prototypes currently enjoying testing by engineers at the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Systems Command.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/navys-killer-railgun-it-happening-or-not-38702
