During launch of a missile that contains a chemical booster, a thrust-providing plume of exhaust gas is generated. The exhaust gas is extremely hot (in excess of 5000° F.) and very erosive due to the presence of metallic particulates. Booster-assisted launch, which is typically referred to as “hot launch,” has a number of drawbacks, including:                heating of the launch platform, which creates a readily-identifiable thermal signature;        obscuring the visibility and/or temporarily blinding missile-launch personnel;        impairing radar systems in the vicinity of the launch platform due to the presence of the metallic particulates in the missile exhaust; and        the difficulty of adequately venting the exhaust gas from relatively larger missiles, which, in comparison with smaller missiles, is relatively hotter and more voluminous.        
To address these problems, “cold launch” technologies are being developed. One promising cold-launch technology is the electromagnetic missile launcher. In current electromagnetic missile launchers, plural, independently-addressable, preformed coils are stacked around a cylindrical launch tube. During a typical electromagnetic launch, electric current is sequenced through these coils to accelerate an armature that is located within the launch tube. The moving armature propels a missile to launch velocity.
Although prior-art electromagnetic launchers effectively address the problems of hot launch, they suffer from other drawbacks. In particular, prior-art electromagnetic launchers have relatively low propulsion efficiency. Furthermore, some prior-art electromagnetic missile launchers are relatively inflexible in that they have essentially no ability to accommodate missiles that vary from a design diameter. In addition, the weight, size, reliability, and complexity of prior-art electromagnetic launchers are negatively impacted by the manner in which they are fabricated.