Shoot Me In The Belly!: Navy Tests Latest Railgun
I'm not really sure how it's been upgraded since the last time we saw it (new paintjob?), but this is a video for the Navy/BAE System's latest incarnation of their railgun. Man, I love how the launch screen in the control room looks like something straight out of Windows 95 with a giant 'ABORT!!!!' button (picture HERE). Really makes me feel safer about the nukes.
It fires a 40-pound metal slug up to 5,600 miles per hour from New York to Philadelphia, slamming into its target with 32 times the force of a "1-ton car being thrust at 100 mph."
The plan is to continue testing over the next five years, ramping up the energy level to 32 megajoules and beyond. How to power such an extraordinary gun is another question entirely, however. The Navy is hoping for an ambitious rate of ten rounds per minute, but at the moment, there's nothing in our fleet that could deliver that kind of juice.
Oh, there's something in our fleet that could deliver that kind of juice alright -- and his name is Optimus Prime. Kidding, he's an 18-wheeler, not a boat! He can't deliver anything but shit to Wal-Mart and a lackluster performance on the big screen. BOOSH -- transform and suck it, Optimus!
Hit the jump for a brief demo of the I would take a shot of that to the gut for the right price.
The Military's Super Shipwrecking Railgun Just Got Really Real [gizmodo]
Thanks to Douglas M., who can't think railgun without thinking there's some kind of train involved. Omg -- SAME!
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