ATLA released video footage on social media X (formerly Twitter), on October 17. The footage shows a developmental electromagnetic (EM) railgun firing an unspecified number of rounds into the ocean from a vessel.
“To protect vessels against air-threats and surface-threats with high-speed bullets, ATLA strongly promotes early deployment of railgun technology,” ATLA said on X.
An ATLA spokesperson told Naval News on October 18 that the offshore firing test took place from a JMSDF vessel.
The milestone announcement came after the JMSDF’s Headquarters Yokosuka District in January 2023 signed a contract worth 10.8 million yen ($72,220) with an unspecified company for “temporary equipment of 40mm railguns, etc. for vessel as investigation work,” according to a website that summarizes the procurement results of Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces. This has been seen as ATLA’s next move to collect data on board the JMSDF vessel as part of the “future rail gun research.”
Although the Japanese MoD did not reveal the contractor’s name, it is well known in Tokyo that Japan Steel Works, Ltd. is involved in this railgun project.
Asked whether by Naval News if ATLA considered this railgun offshore firing test a success, the ATLA spokesperson said, “We were able to confirm compatibility with the vessel on which the railgun was installed and obtain data on the effects of ship-mounting on the railgun. We believe that we achieved the desired results.”
On the future of this project, the spokesperson told Naval News the following:
“Starting in fiscal year 2022, we have been conducting research aimed at establishing the overall technology necessary for early practical realization of railguns, including rapid fire performance and stability during flight, which are important for the practical application of railguns. At the same time, we have been carrying out demonstration tests aimed at further practical application, such as carrying a railgun on board and conducting actual offshore firing. The Ministry of Defense intends to steadily work towards the early practical use of railguns in order to accelerate the strengthening of Japan’s defense capabilities.”
ATLA Spokesperson
The development of railgun technology is in line with Japan’s new Defense Buildup Program, approved by the National Security Council and the Cabinet in December 2022, which calls for continuing research on future railguns to improve the capability of intercepting various airborne threats, most notably hypersonic missiles.
ATLA began studying railgun technology in fiscal year 2016 by spending 1 billion yen from fiscal year 2016 to 2022 to fund research and efforts to develop the EM railgun weapon system.
ATLA has explained to Japanese media that the prototype of the weapon system weighs 8 tons and its cannon barrel has a length of 6 meters.
The video released by Japan’s defense ministry in 2018 showed a 40mm-caliber developmental electromagnetic railgun along with its support and test equipment. ATLA said the prototype of the railgun succeeded in firing a projectile at speeds of 2,297 m/s in trials, or Mach 6.5.
A recent MoD document about the JMSDF vessel’s new combat direction system features an image showing a railgun on the future ship, as well as high-power microwave- and laser-based weapons, all of which Tokyo expects as a means to counter various airborne threats.
The MoD allocated 6.5 billion yen in fiscal year 2022 and 16 billion yen in fiscal year 2023 respectively to “conduct research on future railguns that can fire bullets at high initial velocity in order to deal with various aerial threats.” In late August, it requested 23.8 billion yen for fiscal year 2024 budget for future railgun research.
