The development of a naval electromagnetic “gun” for the Japanese Navy has been known as a program for years, but a few days ago the first photo of it was made public, in a completed tower, on a ship, for testing.
The program began in 2016, with the aim of producing a railgun with a capacity of 120 rounds per minute, with supersonic projectiles, i.e. a capacity equivalent to the most modern naval guns, but without the well-known problems of barrel wear, limited projectile load, and so on.
Now the program has managed to create the basic “gun” and conduct test firings, achieving projectile speeds of up to Mach 6.5, so it is in the next phase: that of completing the system so that it has the necessary firing speed and accuracy to be efficient. Here, it is crucial to produce a fire control system that guides the weapon.
The Japanese side, through the ATLA (Procurement, Technology and Logistics) service of the Ministry of Defense, has also concluded a cooperation agreement with the Franco-German defense research institute ISL, based in Saint Louis, France, which has relevant know-how.
It is interesting, however, that the United States is also conducting similar research on a naval railgun, but without success, despite having spent about half a billion dollars. On the contrary, China also has the same program, and is continuing its development.
