Prototypes of the US Navy’s much vaunted electromagnetic railguns were unveiled this week. The new technology, capable of firing projectiles at up to 5,600 miles per hour, is set to revolutionize naval warfare. The Navy demonstrated two working railgun prototypes aboard the USS Millinocket in San Diego, developed by the Office of Naval Research. The high-tech weapons function by using an electrical... 

Navy Office of Legislative Affairs, November 3, 2010. The US Navy’s research office expects that ship-based laser weapons will be ready for deployment in two years, which is two years ahead of previous estimates. But this futuristic weaponry may face setbacks in the form of looming budget cuts. ­“We’re well past physics,” Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research... 

The US Navy hopes to have operational laser cannons on their ships within the next four years. They will be used against fast-moving targets like cruise missiles, speedboats and drones. ­The Navy hopes to have a working prototype for the futuristic laser weapon within two years, Wired reports. “The contract will probably have options go through four years, but depending on which laser source the...