http://www.gizmag.com Think of the electromagnetic railgun as an electric cannon which uses electrical energy instead of chemical propellant to launch projectiles at hypervelocities. First conceived nearly a century ago, the concept was investigated by Germany during WWII, but has really only stepped out of science fiction and into reality in the last 12 months. With shells travelling at Mach 5 on impact, and accurate to within five metres at a 200 mile range, such weapons maximize the damage they do through kinetic energy, and hence don't need explosive payloads. Accordingly, they are ideal for naval warfare as they minimise the risk to warships which do not need to carry explosive warheads or propellants. Earlier this week, the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded a USD 21 million 30-month contract to BAE Systems for the detailed design and delivery of an Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) Railgun. As previously warned, if the Daleks don't get here soon, they'll have a serious fight on their hands.en gizmag.com http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-108010 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-108010 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:48:13 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-107989 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-107989 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:15:18 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-98221 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-98221 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:05:29 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-79645 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-79645 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:53:03 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-16351 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-16351 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:22:05 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-14086 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-14086 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:33:03 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-12520 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-12520 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:09:11 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-12469 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-12469 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:36:14 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-9517 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-9517 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:24:11 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-3994 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-3994 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:45:54 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-2725 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-2725 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:22:42 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-2023 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-2023 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:24:01 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1507 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1507 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:41:50 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1423 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1423 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:38:15 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1228 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1228 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:21:21 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1132 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1132 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:15:10 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1117 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1117 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:26:58 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1084 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1084 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:03:48 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1069 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1069 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:18:41 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1066 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1066 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:16:27 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1063 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1063 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:45:30 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1057 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1057 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:54:17 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1054 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1054 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:16:37 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1051 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1051 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:08:25 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1048 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1048 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:51:50 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1039 http://www.gizmag.com/us-office-of-naval-research-electromagnetic-railgun/11035/#comment-1039 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:53:27 -0600