U.S. Navy testet mysteriöse Railgun infographic
Grafik zeigt wie die elektromagnetische Railgun funktioniert.
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MILITÄR

Futuristische US Waffe in geheimen Tests

By Ninian Carter

December 3, 2020 - Die US Navy könnte eine experimentelle Waffe, die "Railgun" auf dem Potomac Fluss in Virginia testen. Meilenweit ist der Fluss für Boote gesperrt, Bewohner in der Nähe werden vor starkem Lärm gewarnt.

The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) has issued a munitions testing warning to areas of the Potomac river in Virginia, closing large sections in the tidewater region to boat traffic and telling civilians to expect very loud noises.

The source of the explosive sounds is the same Railgun Building 1410 where the Navy first tested its $500 million experimental electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) in 2012.

Once the trope of science fiction, railguns use electricity to generate very strong electromagnetic fields between two rails, down the centre of which is accelerated a projectile at a velocity of around 7,200km per hour, or 2 kilometres a second.

The U.S. Navy has two railgun prototypes, one constructed by BAE Systems (rated at 32 megajoules of energy with a range of 160km) and the another by General Atomics (rated at 20 megajoules with a range of 80km)

The giant guns were first set up at NSWCDD in the early 2010s, with one being moved to the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico in early 2019. It is likely the Navy is testing the remaining gun again or it has built a new prototype, possibly one with a range of 400km, as was hinted at in a 2014 NASA report.

China is ahead of the U.S. in railgun development with one spotted mounted on a retired landing craft on the Yangtze River in 2018. The ship, dubbed "Yangtze Sea Monster", appeared in open seas later that year, with a fully operational Chinese railgun expected to be at sea by 2025.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 04/12/2020; STORY: Graphic News
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