This week the US Navy and Marine Corps unveiled their new Electromagnetic Railgun at the Navel Future Force Science and Technology EXPO at the E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.

The new Railgun was developed by the Office of Naval Research and BAE systems and has the ability to change the face of modern naval warfare.

Ships equipped with the EM Railgun will be able to fire hypersonic projectiles at targets more than 100 miles away. The projectiles are pushed out of the Railgun at speeds up to Mach 6 (6 times the speed of sound). What makes the Railgun so deadly is at that speed and range; it can precisely hit its target.

The EM Railgun is one very powerful weapon.

The EM Railgun is a long range weapon which uses electromagnetic energy to fire the projectiles faster and further than current options.

Once a projectile is launched it uses it’s kinetic energy, rather than conventional explosives to destroy the target, either on land, sea, or in the air.

The EM Railgun is designed to fire at a rate of 10 projectiles per minute. This may seem slow, however the range and the destructive capability of the projectiles more than makes up for the slow firing rate.

Since the projectiles do not require gunpowder or propellant to be fired, this reduces the need for such dangerous explosives to be on ships and significantly reduces the chance of accidents happening which may harm crew members.

Also because the projectiles do not carry any explosives, the danger of leaving unexploded ordnance on the battlefield is reduced.