new Navy gun testing

[sniper]

this is a new electromagnetic gun that rocks!!! it destroys the target from 100 miles away.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/10/navy-railgun-shoots-bullets-electromagnet/

[OldManC]

I was just reading about that (and checking out the video) earlier! That's a pretty awesome display of firepower...

[sniper]

some times i am reminded of our capacity to harm others (enemies), i wish the need for weaponry would subside.

when i see stuff like this i am glad our side has it first. given what i know now, i would still chose to carry a bag of dressings and a 45 as i once was expected to.

the range of this gun being about 100 miles with accuracy being determined by GPS and the range of an Exocet being about the same i think its a horse apiece.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The rail gun has the advantage of being nearly impossible to intercept. Exocets are subsonic, and as the British showed in the Falklands, not nearly as formidable as advertised. I remember in the 80's when everyone was up in arms about Chinese Silkworms being sold to Iran. Turns out about the only successful exotic weapons system they ever deployed was the F-14A Tomcat /AIM-54 Phoenix which took down a bunch of Iraqi MiGs, way more than they did in our service, including MiG-25's, during the Iran-Iraq War. Nice of the previous administration to sell them spare parts from our decomissioned fleet, BTW. (Please note the source) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,248844,00.html

The Phoenix, it should be noted, is a Mach 4 air intercept missile designed to take out both aircraft and incoming missiles. In US livery, the F-14A was able to carry six of them and fire all six simultaneously at different targets. The AWG-9 radar which made that possible was a re-development of the targeting radar employed in the A-12, the armed precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird. Iranian Tomcats can only carry four at a time, but still present a formidable threat to Navy F-18's and Air Force F-15's.

Rail guns are the new heavy surface artillery. My brother fires Tridents to end the world and Tomahawks to police it: boat bullets are bad business