The Warzone/The Drive: Despite What You've Heard, The Navy Isn't Ditching Its Railgun And Budget Docs Prove It
The service is still moving ahead with the electromagnetic weapon, which takes on new significance given recent Chinese developments.
Despite recent reports that the U.S. Navy could abandon the effort altogether, the service has included millions of dollars in its latest budget request to continue working on its potentially game-changing railgun. Though overall funds for the project have fluctuated in recent years, the revelation that the Chinese may have installed their own prototype weapon on an actual ship could prompt the service and Congress to try and accelerate the electromagnetic cannon's development.
On Feb. 12, 2018, the Navy released its proposed budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which allots almost $45.8 million for research and development into both electromagnetic and directed energy weapons, reflecting the latest phase in the project's evolution. This is a common pool that pays for the railgun project, as well as work on maturing solid state laser technology and a joint program with the U.S. Air Force to build a high-powered radio frequency weapon for aircraft called High-power Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike (HIJENKS).
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I guess these reports were premature .... The U.S. Navy Is Funding Lasers and Killing the Railgun (Popular Mechanics)
