China firing railguns while US blows hot and cold

China’s latest electromagnetic railgun test ultimately failed but underscored its relentless pursuit of the weapon, contrasting sharply with the US’s uncertain commitment to the potential game-changing technology.

This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) tested an electromagnetic railgun by firing a smart bomb 15 kilometers into the stratosphere at a speed exceeding Mach 5. The test was later declared unsuccessful.

A Naval Engineering University team led by Lu Junyong used artificial intelligence technology to identify and address the cause of the railgun projectile’s undesired tilt during ascent, according to the SCMP report.

The projectile accelerated at roughly 35 times the force of gravity for around five seconds after launch, confirming the researchers’ claim that it exceeded hypervelocity, or Mach 5.

The report says that Chinese policymakers expect the railgun project to advance civilian technologies such as high-speed railways, affordable space launches and obvious military applications.

SCMP notes that while the US Navy stopped its railgun development efforts in 2021, due to high energy requirements and poor barrel life, Chinese scientists and engineers have received consistent support, resulting in a series of breakthroughs.

Chinese policymakers anticipate that the rail gun project’s progress will also spur the development of cutting-edge civilian technologies such as hyper-speed railways and more cost-effective space launches.

In a March 2024 article for Defense One, Matt Bruzzese and Peter Singer note that, 20 years ago, Chinese leaders recognized that obtaining advanced shipboard power systems was challenging as foreign countries had restricted