The Navy plans to begin testing of the prototype electromagnetic railgun at sea beginning in fiscal 2016, Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research said recently.
Both versions of the railgun will be tested on a Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV).
BAE Systems and General Atomics both built separate railguns for the ONR in the prototyping phase of the program. Last year, the ONR selected BAE Systems to build the railgun for the next phase of the program.
The electromagnetic (EM) railgun employs magnates powered by electrical pulses to launch projectiles at supersonic speeds rather than traditional propellants like gun powder. The railgun is intended for precision strikes deep inland, or for surface warfare and defense against anti-ship cruise missiles.
The Navy has been experimenting with the technology for years and hopes to eventually deploy EM railguns on surface combatants, possibly sometime in the mid-2020s.