Gizmodo: US Navy

Navy Rail Gun Test DESTROYS Everything It Touches at 5,640 mph

Kit Eaton — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:30:23 EST

The US Navy has just completed a 10-megajoule test fire of their huge rail gun. For the first time ever, they fired a projectile with a velocity of 8,270 feet per second. That's an amazing 5,640 mph, and the gun is only firing at a third of its potential power. The other video shows you what the projectile looks like when loaded.

The Navy is researching rail guns because they would weigh less than conventional ones, and since they rely on electromagnetics to fire rounds, you wouldn't need a big, dangerous pile of explosives stored in a magazine. All of that means a lighter ship, and a much more deadly ship: a combat-ready rail gun would be able to fire Mach 5 projectiles over 200 miles with pinpoint accuracy, hitting 5 meter targets.

Yesterday's test firing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division used just some of the potential 32-megajoules the laboratory test gun is capable of, and that's only half the 64-megajoules the Navy is aiming at for the final weapon. Expect even more dramatic videos, sometime soon. [Navy Times and Danger Room]

Serious Weapons: Navy Uses Poison Darts to Neutralize Surf Mines

Charlie White — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:16:33 EST

The Navy has figured out a strange way to neutralize deadly mines near the beach: using a satellite-guided bomb that releases thousands of poison darts. Each .50 caliber Venom dart is packing some seriously poisonous stuff called DETA, causing some of the mines to explode and then neutralizing the rest of them with caustic chemicals. Better get out of the way of these babies.

With their special blunt noses, they easily travel through 12 feet of water or 2 feet of sand, and a 60-foot-wide cloud of these darts can be released from 1000 feet up, far out of harm's way if anything should explode. Sounds like the equivalent of sending a pig through a minefield.

We've heard rumblings of the military studying the concept of releasing clouds of nanotech devices to do similar damage or report data back to the mother ship. Anybody have anything to add to that? – Charlie White

Navy's Deadly New Darts [Defense Tech]

Awesome Railgun Demoed, Navy Gives the Thumbs Up

Charlie White — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:30:53 EST

Railguns have moved beyond the realm of first-person shooters on a video screen—one was demonstrated earlier this week at the Naval Surface Warfare Center that could put the serious hurt on you, making you feel like you've been hit by a Ford Taurus at 380mph. US Navy brass like the idea of the futuristic weapon, which makes today's Navy's 5-inch rifles with their 15-mile range look like pea shooters.

This railgun monster, propelling its 7-pound projectile with electric current along parallel rails, has a range of 250 nautical miles and packs the same punch as a more-expensive Tomahawk cruise missile. It could take down an entire building with one shot. Plus, dangerous explosives aren't necessary, because this beast does the equivalent of throwing big rocks at 11,500fps. That's gotta hurt. An even more powerful version will be delivered in June. – Charlie White

A missile punch at bullet prices [The Free Lance-Star]