China may have a hypersonic railgun

• Autores: Chris Baraniuk
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3164, 2018, pág. 12
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Photos published online suggest that China may be testing a ship-mounted electromagnetic railgun. If confirmed, this would make China the first nation to develop such a superweapon, with potential implications for the power-struggle between China and the US in Asia. A railgun uses electromagnetic force to fire projectiles along electrically charged rails at very high speeds. The US has been developing its own railgun technology over the past 10 years. If China has succeeded, it could change the balance of power at sea, says Justin Bronk at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK. There isn't really a known defence mechanism against a railgun shot at high Mach numbers, he says.