THE US NAVY RAILGUN NOT YET READY FOR PRIME TIME–AS THE LATEST NAVAL STEALTH SHIPS THE ZUMWALT CLASS WILL SOME DAY BE EQUIPPED WITH THE NEW TECHNOLOGY GUN THAT CAN DESTROY A TARGET 100 MILE AWAY WITH A NONE EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILE

The US Navy has been wowing people with electromagnetic railguns, a long-range electrically-powered weapon, in concept and prototy​pe for years now. But the single big obstacle that keeps the railgun off boats remains the same as it ever was: ships can’t generate enough power to fire them.

At the Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo, Vice Adm. William Hilarides explaine​d that three problems with the railgun remain: room on ships, integrating the new weapons with the old weapons systems, and power—as in, not enough of it.

The railgun doesn’t rely on chemical explosions like more conventional weapons. Instead, the projectile is housed in a electrically conductive metal armature, which connects two parallel, 30-foot rails. A huge 25-megawatt electric pulse is sent down the rails, creating the magnetic fields that shoot the armature and projectile out.

For the Navy, the upsides to an electromagnetic railgun are clear: its range of 100 miles is about double that of conventional high-velocity projectiles, and its projectiles, which go seven times the speed of sound, aren't explosive.

Not only does this make them cheaper and easier to store and transport, but it also eliminates the threat o​f ordnances lying unexploded long after the war ends.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-is-why-the-navy-cant-have-nice-railguns