Looking like something out of Minecraft, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has released a new image of its latest electromagnetic railgun being developed by the Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics Agency (ATLA) to counter hypersonic missiles.

First developed in the 1920s, railguns are simple to understand, have a remarkable potential, and sound seriously sci-fi. The principle behind them is fairly simple. In fact, any first-year engineering student could build a decent one without much effort.

Essentially, it’s the equivalent of taking an electric motor and flattening it out so that instead of making the armature spin around, the magnets shoot it across the room, which can be a bit aggravating. It’s the principle behind maglev trains and the fighter plane launchers on the latest US aircraft carriers. For the railgun, it’s used to propel projectiles at tremendous speeds without the need for cordite or other explosives.

The United States, India, China, France, and Germany have all looked at developing a practical railgun for warships and land artillery, but Japan has shown the keenest interest since 2016, pouring in US$300 million in the past three years.

Japan has been actively developing electromagnetic railgun technology since 2016, aiming to enhance its defense capabilities against advanced aerial and maritime threats. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to counter challenges posed by hypersonic missiles and other high-speed projectiles.

No details have been released of Japan’s new railgun, but the latest prototype that we have data on and was tested on the Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel JS Asuka. It’s able to fire 40mm shells weighing 320 grams (11 oz) at muzzle speeds of up to Mach 6.5 and consumes about 5 megajoules per shot, but the goal is to boost this up to 20 megajoules in the near future.

They also need electronics able to survive sudden launch accelerations of over 30,000 gs or enough to reduce a human being to something resembling paté.

Source: New Atlas

Image: JMSDF