Japan’s military has planned for a railgun since at least 2015, with the goal of a ship-mounted weapon as part of the idea from the start. A 2016 demonstration of a railgun accelerated its ...

The U.S. Navy says it has tested one of two prototypes of its futuristic electromagnetic railgun, a weapon that could fire a 5-inch projectile up to 100 miles, yet which requires no explosives to ...

Japan’s railgun was first tested aboard a ship in October 2023. But this latest trial involved a significantly modified version, a sign that progress is being made toward a more stable, powerful ...

Last year, a Japanese ship performed the first-ever railgun test at sea, a success that led the Ministry of Defense to request 23.8 billion yen (about $160 million) for railgun R&D in its 2024 budget.