Holy Crap!
Jan 18, 2007
Engadget: Navy develops 8-Megajoule railgun, Nukem bows down.
[...] the weapon should "only" cost around $1,000 per shot once loaded onboard, which is chump change compared to the cool million that vanishes each time a cruise missile is deployed, and if everything goes as planned, we'll be seeing a 32-Megajoule prototype in June, with a 64-Megajoule rendition adorning our ships by 2020.
Soon, Jihadists are going to get their 72 raisins more cheaply.
The comparison to cruise missiles isn't really a fair one. Cruise missiles are capable of maneuvering - railguns are line of sight. The big advantage of railguns is the ability to carry a lot more ammunition, and lob it further than with conventional cannons/artillery. Reduced flight time is a nice bonus too because it makes it easier to engage moving targets.
Posted by: Alex | Jan 18, 2007 at 07:53 PM
Well I've thought that the Missouri-class battleships shouldn't have been phased out. They proved their worth in Vietnam, Korea, and the first Gulf War--and their multi-ton shells were also much cheaper than cruise missiles (though only good close to the shoreline). This weapon could go towards alleviating the current gap.
Posted by: Matt | Jan 18, 2007 at 11:11 PM
Mmmmm . . . heavy ordinance. Yummy.
Belated congrats on getting asylumn, BTW.
Posted by: Morcae | Jan 19, 2007 at 11:53 AM
Morcae: Thanks.
Posted by: Isaac Schrödinger | Jan 19, 2007 at 03:32 PM