Nichols Martin
A General Atomics business unit has received a three-year contract to help the U.S. Army‘s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Command mature and evaluate electromagnetic railgun weapon systems.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems and ARDEC will collaborate to develop and test prototypes for mission performance and possible integration with Army vehicles as part the contract awarded through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium, the company said Thursday.
“The railgun weapon system is intended to integrate with existing Army systems and complement conventional capabilities,”said Nick Bucci, vice president of missile defense and space systems at GA-EMS.
Mike Rucker, director of GA-EMS’ missile defense system programs, said that a railgun uses hypersonic projectiles to help warfighters acquire targets and fire at longer ranges.
GA-EMS has previously developed and produced multimission railgun systems with up to 32 mega joules of firing energy capacity.
