Electromagnetic Railgun

[PlacidCasual]

2025 is the expected US date, and as it's BAE making them we'll probbaly have access to them too.

Whether we'll have a ship with a power plant capable of supporting them is another issue.

If you are familiar with Kers, either the capaciator or flywheel type, it is quite conceivble to think that a gas turbine power train with a 35MW output could provide 35Mj every 7 seconds whilst still leaving 30MW available for normal shipboard operations. The spare 5MW would just charge up a KERS like storage system ready for discharge on the rail gun firing. The energy problem is already being addressed for the EMALS linear induction motor aircraft carrier catapault which also has short term high electricity demands.

 

[Dr.EM]

I know it's just the reverberation from the hard surfaced room, but I do love the sound in the original video where it fires at 0:20

 

[sigma]

I like the sound this makes:

If you are familiar with Kers, either the capaciator or flywheel type, it is quite conceivble to think that a gas turbine power train with a 35MW output could provide 35Mj every 7 seconds whilst still leaving 30MW available for normal shipboard operations. The spare 5MW would just charge up a KERS like storage system ready for discharge on the rail gun firing. The energy problem is already being addressed for the EMALS linear induction motor aircraft carrier catapault which also has short term high electricity demands.

Nice, very informative post.