Navy to test railrun in GoM

The first at-sea test firing of the Navy’s electromagnetic railgun is tentatively scheduled for late summer of 2016 in the waters of Eglin Air Force Base’s Maritime Test Range in the Gulf of Mexico. The high-powered electromagnetic pulsed rail gun can deliver its projectile at more than seven times the speed of sound. It will be mounted on the deck of the Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Trenton to fire over-the-horizon projectile at a target anchored in the Gulf, said Capt. Mike Ziv, program manager for Directed Energy and Electric Weapons Systems. The railgun, in development since 2005, can fire a hypervelocity projectile at three times the velocity of a typical 5-inch gun’s shell. Trenton was selected for its large flight deck, and large bay area, to accommodate the railgun. (Source: Seapower Magazine 04/14/15) Austal USA shipyard christened USNS Trenton (JHSV 5) in early January 2015. It was the fifth JHSV produced by the Mobile, Ala., facility.