The Future of Firepower: The Disruptive Potential of the Electromagnetic Railgun

Artillery delivered fires over the past fourteen years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan was frequently reserved for the delivery of expensive precision munitions from a single cannon or missile launch. The advancement of the Electromagnetic Railgun by the Office of Naval Research could transform the employment of artillery across the services. Specifically, a ground based Electromagnetic Railgun with increased capabilities in range, rates of fire, and precision coupled with reductions in logistics requirements, costs, and projectile weight could provide the warfighter with superior firepower capability in the close and deep fight in future wars.