US Navy scraps futuristic gun plans, eyes hypersonic missiles to keep up with China and Russia

The Navy spent over a decade developing the electromagnetic rail gun that fires projectiles at up to seven times the speed of sound using electricity

The force cut funding for rail gun research to free up resources for hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare systems

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Workers take measurements after a successful test firing of an electromagnetic rail gun prototype launcher at a facility in Virginia, US. File photo: US Navy/AP

Published: 9:00pm, 1 Jul 2021Updated: 8:59pm, 1 Jul 2021

The US Navy pulled the plug, for now, on a futuristic weapon that fires projectiles at up to seven times the speed of sound using electricity.

The Navy spent more than a decade developing the electromagnetic rail gun and once considered putting them on the stealthy new Zumwalt-class destroyers built at Maine’s Bath Iron Works.

But the Defence Department is turning its attention to hypersonic missiles to keep up with China and Russia, and the Navy cut funding for rail gun research from its latest budget proposal.

“The rail gun is, for the moment, dead,” said Matthew Caris, a defence analyst at Avascent Group, a consulting firm.

The removal of funding suggests the Navy saw both challenges in implementing the technology as well as shortcomings in the projectiles’ range compared to hypersonic missiles, he said.

The Navy’s decision to pause research at year’s end frees up resources for hypersonic missiles, directed-energy systems like lasers and electronic warfare systems, said Lt. Courtney Callaghan, a Navy spokesperson.