Key Points – While the US Navy abandoned its railgun program in 2021 after decades of research and over $500 million invested, primarily due to severe barrel degradation issues, Japan is successfully advancing the technology.
-Japan’s Ministry of Defense, through its Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA), conducted its first shipboard railgun firing test in October 2023.
-This system fires projectiles at nearly Mach 6 (2,000 m/s) with improved firing stability (up to 120 rounds). Railguns offer rapid target engagement, potent missile defense capabilities (including against hypersonics), and significantly lower projectile costs compared to missiles, promising a complementary role in future naval warfare.
Railguns: Sci-Fi or the Real Deal?
The term “Railgun” may sound quite unfamiliar and exotic, or it may seem like material out of a science fiction movie. While a railgun as a deployable weapon system does sound futuristic, the idea has been around for over a century, and research and experimentation into this promising weapon began as early as the 1980s in the United States.
Despite the early interest and forward movement in developing a workable railgun, it was Japan that brought this weapon to fruition. There are numerous factors contributing to this turn of events; however, it is Tokyo’s glaring defensive needs that have spurred the development and deployment of railgun technology.
Railguns, A Brief Background
The initial concept of a railgun was first put forth by a French inventor by the name of André Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplée. In 1917, he assembled a small working model of a railgun. Unfortunately, by the end of the First World War, his promising invention was abandoned.
Approximately twenty years later, with the onset of the Second World War, there was a noticeable increase in the prospects of a workable railgun. Among those interested was Dr. Joachim Hänsler of Germany’s Ordnance Office. While Dr. Hänsler did not develop a working railgun fit for manufacture for the Wehrmacht or Kriegsmarine, he did, however, produce numerous calculations that aided in the further development and research of magnetic railguns.
In the United States, the 1980s marked the beginning of a surge in railgun research activity. During that time, researchers spanning the country began to study and conduct tests into the possibilities of electromagnetic railgun technology. As early as 1980, Westinghouse Electric accomplished its first successful test of a railgun when it accelerated a 300-gram mass to over 4 km/s. By 1988, the US Army patented the technology for a portable railgun in the same decade.
Moving forward to 2005, the Naval Electromagnetic Railgun Innovative Naval Prototype program was established by the Office of Naval Research. This move by the US Navy was made to enhance existing railgun technology, with the goal of developing a seaworthy railgun for fleet operations.
Yet, despite decades of research and over $500 million in investment, the US Navy officially closed its railgun program in 2021. This discontinuation is due to issues revolving around severe barrel degradation from less than 30 firings.
While the US military lost interest in this class of weapons, Japan continued to pursue them.
Japan Forges On and Harnesses the Power of the Railgun
The project to develop a railgun in Japan is under the charge of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, and the groundwork is conducted by the Ground Systems Research Center, a division of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA). The latter began dedicated research and development into the railgun project in 2016 under the official moniker: “Research on Electromagnetic Acceleration Systems.” By 2022, live-fire tests were initiated, and by October 2023, ATLA achieved its first shipboard firing test.
As Asia Times reports:
“The weapon system demonstrates enhanced muzzle velocity, reaching 2,000 meters per second, and stability for firing up to 120 rounds, overcoming challenges of rail erosion and projectile flight stability. Current research aims to transition to a complete “gun system” integrating continuous firing, flight stability improvements and a tailored fire control system.”
While the weapon is presently deployed aboard the test ship JS Asuka, the Japanese MoD has ambitious plans to install the railgun aboard the 13DDX Future Destroyer. In addition to the railgun, the 13DDX will be equipped with surface-to-air missiles, high-powered lasers, high-power microwave weapons, flexible mission modules, autonomous navigation, and other advanced technologies.
Such a warship will prove to be a potent weapon system in terms of offensive capability, given that the railgun will mightily add to the ship’s layered air defenses. Given that 2,000 meters per second is nearly 6 Mach, well-placed railguns, both on land and at sea, will significantly aid in ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missile defense. The latter are primary sources of concern, as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force has accumulated a well-stocked arsenal of 3,150 ballistic missiles, from short-range to the devastating intercontinental variety.
Potential Impact of Railguns in Combat
While we are still in the dawn of the railgun as a deployable weapon, they do have a great deal of potential. Given their immense speed, the shell from a railgun can or will be able to reach their target much more quickly, with much greater force (they don’t necessarily need an explosive warhead to destroy a target).
The projectile fired from a railgun may be able to strike a target on the horizon in roughly six seconds, covering a maximum range of 200-250 miles in about six minutes. This is compared to a Tomahawk cruise missile, which takes eight minutes to cover the same distance.
Given the railgun’s ability to hit a target with the significantly reduced flight time of its projectile, it is feasible to conduct out-ranging strikes against enemy vessels or ground forces. This concept will prove to be highly beneficial in any war within the environs of the South China Sea and its numerous islands.
A final benefit of operational railguns worth discussing is the price of the projectile itself. The price tag of a single Tomahawk cruise missile is approximately $2 million per unit. Conversely, the cost of a single shell for a railgun is roughly $1,000-$ 10,000. Given the vast quantity of ordnance that a high-intensity conflict (even of a short duration) will require, railguns will prove their worth from the outset. This is particularly true as producing replacement shells for a railgun is undoubtedly much less complex and time-consuming than the same process required for manufacturing additional cruise missiles.
Are Railguns the Future?
Railguns are just beginning their service life; fortunately for Japan, they will be the first to have this weapon system in their arsenal.
It is quite within the realm of possibility that railguns will see wide-ranging service due to their hypersonic flight and the devastating damage that they can inflict due to their incredible speed and impact. Given the comparatively low cost per projectile, railguns are an attractive add-on to any state military.
While railguns will certainly enjoy great use, cruise, and hypersonic missiles still have a great deal of service to provide into the future. Given the surgical nature of their strike capability, these weapons will remain in the arsenal of select states for many years to come.
It is entirely possible that in future wars, cruise and hypersonic missiles will be reserved for only the most critical and time-sensitive targets. In coordination, railguns will be used in concert with drone swarms to saturate enemy combat positions, critical infrastructure, and other high-value targets.
Together, all the above systems will devastate an enemy’s frontline positions, industrial capacity, command, control, and communications systems, as well as high-value leadership targets. Ultimately, railguns will complement the existing arsenals of their operators, offering enhanced options in times of war.
Author Biography: Christian P. Martin
Christian P. Martin is a Michigan-based writer; he earned a Master’s degree in Defense & Strategic Studies (Summa cum laude) from the University of Texas, El Paso. Currently, he is a research assistant at the Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum. Concerning writing, he has published several dozen articles in places like Simple Flying, SOFREP, SOF News, and The Collector.
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