General Atomics’ next generation railgun is designed to shoot missiles out of the sky – SlashGear

A growing problem in modern warfare is air defense. While this has been a concern for more than a century, technology is developing at an increasingly rapid pace, resulting in faster and deadlier missiles. Add to that the concern about taking out enemy drones, and air defense becomes a top priority for ground commanders and naval ship captains alike. There’s always a cost-benefit analysis when it comes to air defense, because firing a $4 million missile at a $25,000 drone can be painful. Of course you have protected your assets, but at an incredible cost.

That is why work is being done to develop new systems with the aim of reducing the costs of eliminating aerial threats. There are several laser-based systems already in use, with more on the way, but another technology, railguns, is seeing widespread interest from the military. Electromagnetic railguns are significantly cheaper to deploy than traditional air defense systems, making them an ideal means of taking down both drones and missiles.

General Atomics’ next-gen system is designed to do just that, and it’s one of the most effective new systems to use the technology. In the past, railguns were installed on ships because they require a lot of energy to operate and cannot be transported by humans in any way. Designed to operate on the ground from a flatbed, General Atomics’ railgun system is scalable and requires fewer logistical considerations to operate. This could potentially make it a replacement for missile air defense systems on ships and forward operating bases around the world.

Railgun technology is not new, but turning ideas into functional weapon systems has proven difficult and expensive. Still, it’s a great way to save money and reduce threats from the air, so the US military has been working on it for a while. GA-EMS’ new systems can fire a projectile at Mach 6 (4,604 mph), depending on the weapon’s mass and muzzle velocity. It does this without chemical propellant, because an electric current moves the projectile at incredible speed.

The projectile consists of a sabot and a projectile armature (which provides rotation) and no explosives are required. The round’s kinetic energy is more than enough to punch through any missile or drone on the planet. Even if it hits an incoming missile and doesn’t destroy it, there is little doubt it will be knocked off course. In theory, this new railgun system would be an ideal defense against all airborne threats, including fast-flying cruise missiles. The system uses pulsed power, which is scalable to reduce energy requirements.

It has a high-capacity magazine, although GA-EMS has not yet elaborated at the time of writing. The entire system fits into a shipping container and there are three launchers and three different types of projectiles to choose from. The Multi-mission Railgun weapon systems can be mounted on a truck, making it portable yet easily deployable. They can also be installed on ships, making them a potential replacement for existing missile-based systems, although that may still be a long way off.