Earlier this year the world saw the test-firing of an experimental railgun, now BAE Systems, who constructed the initial prototypes for the US Navy, have been contracted to create two more Phase 2 prototype railgun weapons.
The contract, through the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, is worth $34.5 million and will see BAE Systems refining the electromagnetic railgun, adding multiple shots per minute for the weapon and improving thermal management while including an auto-load feature.
Engadget reports that the projectiles that the EM railgun fires reach a speed of Mach 6, giving the weapon a range of 100 nautical miles. In case you don’t think that this is awesome on its own, there is that test-fire video again. The Phase 2 prototypes are expected to arrive in 2014.
Source: BAE Systems via Engadget