Leaked photos show Chinese warship equipped with electromagnetic RAILGUN capable of firing shells at 6,710mph
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China has appeared to beat the US to the punch when it comes to arming a warship with an electromagnetic railgun .
The futuristic weapon can fling shells across the water at an astonishing 6,710mph.
Pictures leaked onto social media show the Chinese warship with what looks like a railgun strapped to the front. Experts believe this is the case because the weapon is much larger than the usual 37mm point defence cannon mounted on the front.
In the pictures, the Haiyang Shan warship is shown near the Wuchang Shipyard in eastern China. If the country has developed a working prototype, it would be the first nation to have done so.
(Image: Twitter)
(Image: Twitter)
The US and Russia are both developing their own railguns, which fires projectiles along electrically charged rails in order to increase their speed and range.
Magnetic fields created by high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between the two rails to launch the slug.
Using its extreme speed on impact, the kinetic energy warhead eliminates the hazards of high explosives being kept on the ship, and on land, reduces the chance of unexploded bombs which could potentially be detonated.
(Image: Twitter)
In these pictures, large containers can be seen on the vessel - believed to be containing battery packs that would power the gun.