Toggle light / dark theme

America’s New Superweapon? Electromagnetic Projectile Launchers That Fire at 4500 MPH

The new focus of military weapons right now is the railgun. It is capable of launching a projectile 125 miles at Mach 6 speeds using electromagnetic fields.

For several years now, America has been toying with the idea of railguns, weapons that fire not through gunpowder or chemical explosives, but through electromagnetic fields. Yes, these are electromagnetic projectile launchers. Now, they are not only close to reality, but right on the cusp of deployment.

Essentially, the railguns being developed right now operate on the following concept: There are electrical current charges on either side of the barrel of the gun, creating magnetic fields that push projectiles at amazing speeds.

Read more

Bionic Power — Wearable technology for charging batteries

Bionic Power makes wearable technology for charging batteries. Today, we are focused on developing our PowerWalk® Kinetic Energy Harvester for military use and will begin multi-unit field trials with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps next year. In the future, we see our walk-recharge technology being used in disaster zones and remote worksites, and by consumers in recreational, emergency preparedness and backup applications.

Read more

U.S. Army using Michigan interstate to test driverless vehicle tech

LAPEER COUNTY, MI – U.S. Army convoys are set to roll down the interstate in Lapeer and St. Clair counties as part of a first-time testing of driverless military vehicle equipment on public roadways in the state.

If successful, officials say the technology that may save the lives of soldiers thousands of miles away.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC, and Michigan Department of Transportation met with residents in Imlay City and Capac on May 23 to discuss the testing scheduled for late June along Interstate 69.

Read more

Toyota is closing in on a deal to buy Google’s robotics company Boston Dynamics, and the ‘ink is nearly dry’

One misstep after another for Boston Dynamics. First they get bought by the bunglers at Google, who dont want to do business with the Pentagon, so they buy a company who almost exclusively works for the Pentagon, and now getting sold to a foreign electronics company.

Pretty sad treatment for the company making some of the best robotics in the world. It should be sold to a US defense contractor.


Google is selling off robotics company Boston Dynamics, and Toyota is a serious contender.

Read more

Shipping containers full of capacitors will enable flexible railgun designs for shipboard and fixed or mobile land based railguns

The US Navy will be taking its futuristic Railgun out of the lab where it has been tested for to past eight years. Over the next two years, railguns will be tested in open firing ranges and eventually at sea, where the futuristic electromagnetic gun will be able to demonstrate its full capacity to fire projectiles at targets 50–100 nautical miles (92 – 185 kilometers) away.

The Navy is evaluating two electromagnetic railgun models. A 32-megajoule prototype built by BAE Systems and the 32 megajoule Blitzer developed by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS). The company has also developed a 3-megajoule railgun variant. In the future, the Navy plans to deploy railguns rated to 64-megajoule.

A railgun can deliver muzzle velocities greater than twice those of conventional guns. Using electromagnetic power, where magnetic fields created by strong electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor between two rails, the railgun achieves muzzle speeds of more than Mach 7.5 without the use of chemical propellant.

Read more