Japan Successfully Test-Fires Railgun on Ship
Japan’s military recently announced that it has successfully test-fired a railgun on board a ship. The test was conducted by the Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency, Japan’s equivalent of DARPA, in collaboration with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The railgun is specifically designed as a defensive measure, capable of stopping incoming attacks in the air or at sea by firing high-speed bullets.
Unlike traditional bullets that are propelled by a chemical propellant, railguns use electromagnetic force to accelerate a metal slug at great speeds and long ranges. This innovative design allows the railgun to propel bullets rapidly through the air without the need for an explosion. The railgun test was shared by the Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency on Twitter.
Japan has been planning for a railgun since 2015, with the goal of developing a ship-mounted weapon. In a previous demonstration in 2016, a railgun accelerated its projectile to a hypersonic speed of 4,470 mph, which is 5.8 times the speed of sound. This speed surpasses the capabilities of hypersonic missiles currently being developed by countries like the US, China, and Russia. Therefore, a railgun could potentially be used to shoot down such missiles. Japan’s 2023 defense budget proposal explicitly mentions railguns as a means to counter hypersonic missile threats.
According to a spokesperson from the Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency, research has been ongoing since 2022 to establish the necessary technology for practical application of railguns, including rapid fire performance and stability during flight. The agency has also conducted demonstration tests, such as offshore firing, to further advance the practical use of railguns. The Ministry of Defense aims to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities by implementing railguns in the near future.
For the recent test-firing, the railgun was mounted on the JS Asuka, an Asuka-class research ship known for testing missile and sensor technologies. Crucial details about the weapon, such as muzzle velocity and projectile weight, have been kept confidential. In a 2018 test, a Japanese railgun fired a projectile at a speed of Mach 6.5.
Railguns have the potential to be powerful weapons for ships, providing protection against incoming missiles. Additionally, their high-exit velocities enable the bullets themselves to function as offensive hypersonic weapons, capable of inflicting significant damage. The development of railguns offers a path back to relevance for shipboard guns, which have been overshadowed by aircraft carriers and ship-launched cruise missiles in recent years.
The United States Navy is also actively pursuing the development of railguns, aiming to intercept incoming attacks and reach targets at distances of 50 to 100 nautical miles. However, one of the challenges is developing projectiles that can work effectively in railguns as well as existing cannons on US Navy ships.
The continued development of railguns as a counter-hypersonic weapon will undoubtedly complicate military planners’ approach to addressing ships and seaborne threats.
