US working on Mach 8 supergun
Scientists are developing what they call a “supergun” which could obliterate a target 160 km away using a bullet fired at eight times the speed of sound.
The gun, which was tested recently at the Naval Surface Warfare Centre at Dahlgren, Virginia, has been described as the most powerful in the world.
A shot fired by the electromagnetic railgun generated 33 megajoules of force out of the barrel — a world record for muzzle energy and more than three times the previous record.
A single megajoule is roughly equivalent to a one-tonne car travelling at 160 kmph. The impact of the projectile hitting a target would be 33 times that force, the Daily Mail reported.
The report claims that the bullet would take just minutes to fire over 160 km and would hit with pinpoint accuracy with a velocity that is impossible in conventional guns.
The high-tech cannon fires a 20lb bullet or missile at a speed that is impossible in conventional guns. The makers claim it has pinpoint accuracy.
Instead of relying on an explosive propellant like gunpowder, the railgun uses a giant surge of electrical energy to fire the bullet at speeds approaching Mach 8.
The bullet doesn’t explode on impact, it obliterates the target through sheer power.
United States warships can now reach targets only 13 miles away, but it hopes the new gun will allow attacks from a much safer distance. —PTI
Post new comment