Jane Edwards
The U.S. Navy plans to award a contract modification to BAE Systems to continue development work on a pulsed power system for the service branch’s electromagnetic railgun, Military & Aerospace Electronics reported Monday.
John Keller writes Naval Sea Systems Command officials said the sole-source contract to be awarded to BAE’s platforms and services business segment will also cover modeling and design work for the pulsed power unit and integration of batteries and containers onboard surface combat ships.
The Navy’s electromagnetic railgun is a shipboard weapon system that works to fire projectiles at a speed of up to 4,500 miles per hour through the use of electricity-based magnetic fields, according to the report.
The military branch aims to develop a 20- to 32-megajoule railgun system that will work to fire more than 10 rounds per minute at a distance of up to 100 nautical miles.
BAE has begun development work on the railgun’s pulsed power system since 2011, Keller noted.
