Defense Ministry to Conduct Railgun Prototype Firing Test on MSDF Ship; Eyed as Hypersonic Weapon Countermeasure
A prototype railgun being developed by the Defense Ministry
The Defense Ministry plans to test a railgun prototype, a weapon that utilizes electromagnetic force instead of gunpowder to fire projectiles at very high speeds, on an experimental ship off the coast of Japan in the near future, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Railguns are cutting-edge weapons that are considered a potential countermeasure against hypersonic weapons, which China and North Korea are developing. The defense ministry is eyeing the deployment of railguns with a view to installing them on Aegis-equipped ships.
When an electric current is passed through a pair of parallel rails, a magnetic field is generated, which causes the metal projectile inside the railgun to be fired. It can generate much higher speeds and cover much further distances than conventional artillery. It is also considered advantageous in terms of the safety of JSDF personnel, as storing ammunition is easy because it does not use gunpowder.
In addition to attacks on vessels, aircraft and drones, railguns have the potential to be used to intercept hypersonic weapons, which travel at least five times the speed of sound along irregular trajectories at low altitude. Railguns are considered to be a game changer that can transform the balance of power.
Courtesy of the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency
A prototype railgun being developed by the Defense Ministry
The ministry started research on railguns in fiscal 2016 and an offshore firing test was conducted using a small prototype on the Maritime Self Defense Forces' experimental ship JS Asuka in summer 2023.
The upcoming test will use a prototype which is the expected size of those to be used in actual warfare – about six meters long and weighing about eight tons. This is the first offshore test using a near full-scale prototype, and the ministry will check such things as whether it can accurately reach its target.
The ministry concluded the Terms of Reference for cooperation on railgun technologies with France, Germany and a research institute. Hoping to have railguns enter practical use, the ministry has also dispatched its technical officers to the U.S. military, which has suspended its railgun development, in order to utilize its experimental data.
Railguns are being eyed for deployment on Aegis-equipped ships and new-model destroyers. However, some issues still need to be solved, such as rails being damaged over time by the projectiles, making continuous firing difficult and reducing the muzzle velocity.
China has also accelerated its railgun development. According to Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post, China's Naval University of Engineering revealed that it had succeeded in firing off 120 rounds in a research paper published in November 2023. The newspaper said that it would put 'China ahead of the pack, globally.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
7 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Nintendo net profit jumps 18% in April-June on strong Switch 2 sales
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nintendo Co. said Friday its net profit in the three months through June jumped 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 96.03 billion yen ($638 million), as its newly launched Switch 2 gaming console got off to a solid start. Sales jumped 2.3-fold to 572.36 billion yen, while operating profit rose 4.4 percent to 56.93 billion yen in the April-June quarter, the Kyoto-based gaming giant said. The upbeat results came as Nintendo released the Switch 2, its first new console in more than eight years, on June 5. Nintendo sold 5.82 million units of the Switch 2 during the quarter, up from 2.1 million units of the previous model in the same period last year. Nintendo sold 33.07 million copies of software in the three-month period, including 8.67 million for the Switch 2, up from 30.64 million for the original model a year earlier. Among game titles, "Mario Kart World," which was released on the same day as the hardware, posted sales of 5.63 million copies. As the Switch 2 is compatible with game software for the older Switch, titles such as "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" and "Super Mario Party Jamboree" also contributed to sales growth, the company said. Nintendo left unchanged its earnings forecast for the year through March 2026, expecting a 7.6 percent rise in net profit to 300 billion yen on sales of 1.9 trillion yen, up 63.1 percent. For the full business year, Nintendo aims to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles and 45 million copies of game software for the new device. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said in May that the earnings forecast for the year ending March 2026 reflects a negative impact from higher U.S. import tariffs. He said if the company decides to raise prices of its products, the move could slow sales. Japan cut a deal with the United States last week on a 15 percent tariff on cars and other products. The agreement will not affect its earnings forecast, the company said in a release.
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Immune cells that worsen asthma can ease lung inflammation, Japan study shows
A Japanese research team has found that cells often labeled "villains" for their roles in atopic dermatitis and asthma can alleviate lung inflammation. The team of researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo has discovered that basophils, immune cells that are present in very small numbers in the blood, play a crucial role in recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which occurs in severe pneumonia and similar conditions. The findings, published Thursday in the European Respiratory Journal, may pave the way for new treatments. ARDS is triggered by severe pneumonia or sepsis and causes significant inflammation in the lungs. Mechanical ventilation is often required, with the fatality rate reaching 30% to 50%. No effective drug therapy has been established. Associate professor Kensuke Miyake and other members of the team observed the recovery process in mice that exhibited ARDS-like symptoms. They found that basophils gather in the lungs during the recovery phase and secrete a substance called interleukin-4, which alleviates inflammation by suppressing the activity of neutrophils, which are immune cells that contribute to inflammation. Mice in which the functions of basophils and interleukin-4 were blocked showed prolonged lung inflammation and worse symptoms, supporting the case for their essential role in recovery. The team describes the research result as a "discovery that defies conventional wisdom."
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Will Trump's tech policies propel U.S. success against China?
Technology is the key to the confrontation between the United States and China, and the ability to innovate lies at the heart of this competition — especially in the ever-expanding and crucial field of artificial intelligence. However, an increasing emphasis on AI development at the expense of regulation raises concerns, given that rules were being strengthened to mitigate national security, human-rights and safety risks. A rollback that overlooks these issues could have consequences for the U.S. and the world. It may also put America at odds with Europe, which has prioritized regulation, thereby disrupting international cooperation on AI governance.
