Chinese navy testing world's most powerful coil gun: Report

Citing scientists involved in the project, a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Friday said that in a firing test revealed to the public for the first time, the electromagnetic launcher accelerated a 124kg projectile to a speed of 700km/h in less than 0.05 seconds.

The Chinese navy has said that it is using the world's most powerful coil gun - a type of electromagnetically powered weapon capable of launching projectiles with very high speed and accuracy. Citing scientists involved in the project, a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Friday said that in a firing test revealed to the public for the first time, the electromagnetic launcher accelerated a 124kg projectile to a speed of 700km/h in less than 0.05 seconds

This was the heaviest known projectile to be used in a coil gun experiment, the report added. It added that one of the closest competitors to the Chinese coil gun is a 120mm-calibre electromagnetic coil mortar test device at the Sandia National Laboratories in the United States.

This coil gun in the US can fire a projectile weighing 18kg.

Coil guns feature a series of coils arranged along the barrel of the gun, each one constituting a stage. Each coil is energised one after another to create a magnetic field that can levitate and propel a projectile forward. The projectile typically stays suspended in the centre of the coil during launch.

Such weapons can revolutionise the way that wars are fought. The larger a coil gun, the better its ability to fire projectiles similar to those fired by traditional artillery.

As per the Chinese team led by Professor Guan Xiaocun with the Naval University of Engineering, these weapons have many advantages over traditional artillery, including higher launch speeds and a shorter preparation time. In a research paper published in the Transactions of China Electrotechnical Society earlier this month, Guan said that a coil gun has the potential for revolutionary breakthroughs in terms of speed, range, power, accuracy, safety, flexibility and reliability.

“It is widely applicable in areas such as weapon systems, near-Earth satellites and high-speed missile launches,” the research paper added.

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