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Japan performs first ever railgun test from ship at sea

Oct 20, 2023 | News On Japan

Oct 20, 2023 (navalnews.com) - The Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced that it has accomplished a ship-board firing test of a railgun for the first time in the world. The test was conducted with the cooperation of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

ATLA released video footage on social media X (formerly Twitter), on October 17. The footage shows a developmental electromagnetic (EM) railgun firing an unspecified number of rounds into the ocean from a vessel.

An ATLA spokesperson told Naval News on October 18 that the offshore firing test took place from a JMSDF vessel.

The milestone announcement came after the JMSDF’s Headquarters Yokosuka District in January 2023 signed a contract worth 10.8 million yen ($72,220) with an unspecified company for “temporary equipment of 40mm railguns, etc. for vessel as investigation work,” according to a website that summarizes the procurement results of Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces. This has been seen as ATLA’s next move to collect data on board the JMSDF vessel as part of the “future rail gun research.” ...continue reading

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