The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) recently issued a press release stating that earlier, on April 9, the Commander-in-Chief of Self Defense Fleet Vice Admiral Omachi Katsushi reviewed the status of the development of the Japanese "Railgun", which is under development at the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA).
The service, in particular, released a photo of the "Railgun", which is currently installed on the experimental ship JS Asuka (ASE-6102). The JMSDF post, in particular, notes that in preparation for future combat, the Self Defense Fleet "promotes research, development and earlier introduction of equipment necessary for the JMSDF in close collaboration with the ATLA and other organizations, as well as continues to build up its defense posture to protect Japanese citizens and the territorial waters."
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No other details about the current implementation of the "Railgun" project are reported, but in any case, this message is confirmation that the Japanese continue to work on the implementation of the program of such a relatively "exotic weapon".
The presented "Railgun" is the development of the local Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency. This structure has been working on the theme since at least 2016. This weapon is designed to combat air and surface targets.
Seven years later, in 2023, the Japanese first fired their "Railgun" at sea, at which time it was actually noted that the further fate of this project may be in question, because the use of the "Railgun" on a ship requires solving a number of problems associated with various factors - aggressive environment, etc.
Finally, the experience of the United States was also instructive, where in 2021, after 16 years of work, the electromagnetic weapons project was closed.
#ATLA has accomplished ship-board firing test of railgun first time in the world with the cooperation of the JMSDF. To protect vessels against air-threats and surface-threats by high-speed bullets, ATLA strongly promotes early deployment of railgun technology. pic.twitter.com/MG5NqqENcG— Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (@atla_kouhou_en) October 17, 2023
It is known that the Japanese "Railgun" can fire 40-mm ammunition weighing 320 g with an initial speed of Mach 6.5. Previously, the Japanese also noted that the "Railgun" could be a solution against hypersonic missiles.
As Defense Express reported earlier, Japan Find Solution to Shoot Down Drones and Missiles with 155-mm Hyper Projectiles, Considering Ukraine's Experience.
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