Chaps I've been wondering for a while as to how far the development of Kintetic Energy weapons have moved. I know that the USN has been testing the railgun, but wondered if anyone had heard who else is pushing forward with this? I remember being shown a video of Russians supposedly using them in Chechnya, several years ago.

Given the power required do you think that KE system is a realistic weapon of the future, if so how small will it get?

What do you mean by KE? Many weapon systems employ KE today.

Sorry, KE propelled, rather than chemical energy propelled weapon systems.

oh, that makes better sens. you mean like in the movie "Eraser"? Those are actually electic energy based more than KE based...

Yep, just like that, in fact that was what started the thread,c heck out the Arnie fan.

I've seen the videos of the railgun experiments, but they're 2-3 years old & I've heard nothing in the background, so I got to thinkingis there more out there that I'm not aware of - of course the answer is yes, but I'd still like to know.

Anything that moves is using Kinetic Energy.

So the name is a bit stooged.

Originally Posted by Balkan-MiG

Anything that moves is using Kinetic Energy.

So the name is a bit stooged.

True, but I was thinking more weapons powered by KE rather than using chemical propulsion.

Originally Posted by Partisan

True, but I was thinking more weapons powered by KE rather than using chemical propulsion.

The British issue PIAT during WW2 comes to mind.

It was fired by a spring and from what users told me, wasnt that effective.

I recall NASA had a thing about "magnetic rail cannons" some years back for a JIC scenario with asteroids. Using magnets to accelerate an item, whatever it may be, then launching it. I recall reading about it back in the early 80's, but then nothing more. I bet the power requirement is horrendous.

Maglev trains are based off the same concept of rail guns. They are incredibly efficient and work well.

However, as a military application, electromagnetic-based weapons are simply not feasible due to power requirements and resulting weight.

Not saying they dont exist... just saying it is unlikely to.