The mere mention of the word brings back visions of the original
first-person-shooters to grace our now-antiquated machines, and
now the US Navy is getting real personal with a realized version
of the pixelated railgun we all love and adore. Presumably
ripped straight from the (admittedly lacking) storyline of
Quake, an 8-Megajoule railgun has been officially created,
fired, and deemed worthy of flanking our naval ships, which
should strike fear in the hearts of anyone wishing us harm. The
gun was showcased this week at the Naval Surface Warfare Center
at Dahlgren, Virginia, and utilizes massive quantities of
electricity rather than gunpowder to propel "nonexplosive
projectiles at incredible speeds." The weapon is powerful enough
to equal the damage inflicted by a Tomahawk cruise missile, and
the device's project director compared the impact to hitting a
solid object "going 380 miles-per-hour in a Ford Taurus."
Moreover, the railgun touts a 200 to 250 nautical-mile range,
compared to the 15 nautical-mile rang