Railgun: Successful long-range firing from the Asuka!
・ATLA announced successful at-sea railgun firing tests!
・The JMSDF’s Asuka fired at a target ship and conducted long-range firing.
This is a summary from an article published on Yahoo! JAPAN on Wednesday, September 10th.
ATLA: (From X of the ATLA)
The railgun mounted on the JMSDF’s test ship Asuka.
On September 10th, it was announced that it had successfully fired at a target ship and conducted long-range firing.
The announcement was made on the social networking site X (formerly Twitter) along with four photos.
Railgun mounted on the Asuka:
Long-range firing tests were conducted from June to early July.
The railgun mounted on the Asuka successfully fired at a target ship and conducted long-range firing.
This marks the first time that a carrier-mounted railgun has been successfully fired at an actual ship.
“Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency Technology Symposium 2025”:
The Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (DAC) will hold a detailed report on the latest railgun test results in Tokyo from November 11th to 12th.
The results will be reported at the “Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency Technology Symposium 2025.”
This Maritime Firing Test: JMSDF Firing Training Area:
The Ministry of Defense announced that it would conduct “maritime firing tests” in the waters southeast of Hachijojima from June 9th to July 25th of this year.
The JMSDF’s maritime firing training area is located in the waters southeast of Hachijojima.
1. In early June, a target ship moored at the JMSDF’s Nagaura Port in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, set sail.
2. However, no announcements had been made during this time, and the results of this firing test were attracting attention.
“DSEI Japan 2025”: Makuhari Messe, Chiba
DSEI Japan 2025, an international trade fair, was held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba from May 21st to 23rd.
A half-scale model of a railgun was exhibited for the first time.
The ATLA’s railgun is highly efficient:
Railguns fire hypervelocity projectiles using electrical energy instead of gunpowder.
1. The ATLA’s test used a 6-meter-long, 40mm-caliber barrel.
2. The projectile recorded a speed of 2,297 meters per second, nearly Mach 7, a hypersonic speed.
3. This surpasses the speed of a tank gun, which is approximately 1,750 meters per second, the highest speed of any conventional artillery weapon.
Economics of the ATLA’s railgun:
1. It is capable of rapid firing and is less expensive than conventional interceptor missiles.
2. However, it requires a large amount of power, necessitating a high-capacity power supply.
3. Miniaturization is a challenge for installation on ships and other aircraft.
It is capable of intercepting hypersonic weapons exceeding Mach 5, including those from China, North Korea, and Russia.
“Development of an Electromagnetic Acceleration System”:
The Ministry of Defense invested 1 billion yen from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2022 to conduct “Electromagnetic Acceleration System Research,” which serves as basic research for railguns.
“Future Railgun Research Funding” has been allocated 6.5 billion yen for fiscal 2022, 16 billion yen for fiscal 2023, and 23.6 billion yen for fiscal 2024.
Development of High-Power Lasers and High-Power Microwave Devices:
In addition to railguns, the Ministry of Defense is also developing high-power lasers and high-power microwave devices capable of shooting down drones.
Research and development is progressing on these cutting-edge weapons, which could be game-changing.
A Chinese research team reported that they had successfully fired 120 rounds in succession from a railgun.
1. On September 3rd of this year, China held a large-scale military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan.
2. Meanwhile, while high-powered laser weapons and microwave weapons have appeared, railguns have not.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/71cfe9cd0afab421e4f63046939b4f73b91fb340