The Navy is hoping that their latest project, a 10 megajoule railgun, will replace the standard 5-inch guns on most of their ships. Currently in testing phase, this awesome weapon uses a magnetic field to fire projectiles at a speed of approx 5,600 mph. But the Navy is not stopping there; they hope to create a 64 megajoule system capable of shooting at over 13,000 mph and hitting 5 meter targets from 200 nautical miles.

Check out two videos of the Railgun in action after the jump>>

“If you’ve got a little over 10 megajoules as with this demonstration model, you’re looking at 5,600 mph. When the system is completed, it’ll be firing shells with over six times that energy (well over 13,000 mph) using 64 megajoules of energy”

“To give you a sense of scale, an 8 megajoule test shot has an impacting force that the Navy describes as being the equivalent of “hitting a target with a Ford Taurus at 380 mph.”

The flames you can see coming from the Railgun are caused because the projectile travels at speeds so fast that the air surrounding it begins to catch fire, much like a space craft entering the Earths atmosphere.