Advertisement
US holding fire on rail gun development but China takes aim with planned tests
- The Pentagon has halted its rail gun programme to focus on hypersonic weapons, but had also encountered difficulties with the tech
- Chinese military will aim to overcome these in tests, after learning from other countries’ advances and adding some design changes of their own
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
49
China is to step up its testing of rail guns to an unprecedented level, according to a military researcher, as the US gives up on the futuristic weapon after decades of research.
A rail gun is a kinetic energy weapon that can fire a projectile at seven times the speed of sound with electromagnetic force and hit a target over 200km (125 miles) away – more than 10 times the typical range of a cannon.
The technology faces a major challenge: the fast-moving projectile and high-voltage electric current could cause irreparable wear on the rail or inner wall, reducing the gun’s lifespan and accuracy.
Advertisement
Wang Xiaohe, a researcher at the China Huayin Ordnance Test Centre in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, said Chinese scientists and engineers had in recent years come up with some possible solutions.
02:06
Chinese hypersonic weapons test ‘has all of our attention’, US General Mark Milley says
Chinese hypersonic weapons test ‘has all of our attention’, US General Mark Milley says
But the centre – the top Chinese military testing facility, which issues official certificates for deployment of new weapons – requires the rail guns to pass further tests to prove their potential worth in future warfare.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x