The US Pentagon has been developing a rail gun for years, which we have already seen in video. On the other hand, it is an open secret that the Chinese army is also developing its own, and it seems that they have overtaken the United States by mounting the first prototype on a warship.
A rail gun is a type of weapon that fires projectiles using an electromagnetic field, which can reach a speed of up to six times that of sound (Mach 6). Its operation requires a lot of energy to be able to shoot, something that has complicated its development. In short, the United States Navy has not found how to miniaturize the railgun enough to be able to mount it on one of its ships or, much less, airplanes.
But the Chinese seem to have succeeded, according to leaked information and rumors based on a series of photos of a warship that was recently equipped with a mysterious cannon.
Photo via: Chris Cavas / Dafeng Cao.
The Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has not confirmed or denied that they are developing this type of weapon, but for many years it has been an open secret. The images show a Type 072 ship equipped with a suspicious cannon in the bow, which has a frame in which, according to rumors, the electrical system of the rail gun would be protected.
In addition, the photos show two containers on the vessel that are believed to conceal a modular power system of the weapon, which would solve the problem of the high energy demand of the rail gun. A banner on the weapon assures that it is a "first class weapon to create the only first class armada in the world".
It is assumed that the US Navy will mount its first railroad cannon this year on the USNS Trenton, after delaying it almost two years ago. [Dafeng Cao (Twitter) / Weibo via Motherboard]