The US Navy has just developed a functional prototype of a new weapon so revolutionary that it will completely alter naval warfare (and perhaps even warfare itself). It is called a “railgun” and it has been a “theoretical dream for decades”…until now. The railgun developed by the US Navy accelerates a projectile without the use of any explosive charge, and it does so with a far higher muzzle velocity than any previous gun. The gun shoots out its projectiles via the use of an electromagnetic charge. It is so incredibly powerful that the projectile is hitting Mach 7 when it leaves its launcher, and it “can hit targets 100 miles away or more away within minutes.”
Before its actual development, the railgun was a Sci-Fi-like fantasy. This bears out the truth of the biblical statement in Genesis 11:6 that mankind (made in the very physical and mental image of God according to Genesis 1:26) is capable of actually bringing into being whatever it imagines to do.
As the article notes, the railgun propels its ammo so fast that it will hit a target well before many current naval-fired missiles can reach the same target. This being the case, it begs the question: Will railguns eventually make some missiles themselves obsolete? The railgun’s range may be extended to 200 miles with further refinements.
Railguns have many advantages. Not only are they a far better offensive weapon than previous naval guns and missiles, They need no explosive charges so Navy ships can carry lots more defensive “ammo” that the railguns can use due to having new space available in the current magazines of each navy ship. Also, if a US warship is hit carrying only railgun ammo, the missile or gunfired charge which hits the ship will not ignite as many secondary explosions because there are no explosive charges to explode. This makes US warships more survivable. I suspect the need to develop more advanced defensive weaponry to protect US carriers (which are gravely threatened by new Russian and Chinese supersonic cruise missiles and ballistic missiles) led to an accelerated railgun development. Hopefully, the new railguns will also be able to be used in defensive applications against such incoming Russian and Chinese weaponry! Perhaps the railgun can replace the current Phalanx point-defense system on US warships. It would certainly be able to engage any incoming missiles far further from the ship than the current Phalanx gunfiring system.
The railgun could also revolutionize warfare for the US army. Visualize a tank equipped with a railgun instead of a traditional cannon. Not only would it shoot projectiles at enemy targets far faster, it would hit them at far more-distant ranges. Not needing to stock explosive charges in a tank’s magazine would also eliminate the frequent “cooking off” of ammo rounds inside a tank when it is hit by an enemy round. I’m sure the Pentagon has already thought of this and is working to adapt railgun technology to as many military uses as possible. I’m wondering if a really big railgun could propel unmanned military and civilian space payloads into space far more quickly and efficiently than current rockets and missiles which have to carry so much fuel on them to leave the earth’s orbit? If so, this would revolutionize ICBM technology and NASA space programs as well.
This is a “game-changing” development, and the Western alliance has shown it is capable of some truly remarkable military advancements. Hopefully, railguns can be placed on US warships quickly. They are urgently needed for aircraft carrier defense.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/10/navy-railgun-shoots-bullets-electromagnet/
