April 06, 2018
Does China's Navy Really Have a Railgun? (Or Is It a Hoax?)
In late January 2018, photos started circulating on social media showing a Chinese landing ship armed with a large gun turret fitted on its bow where the ship’s anti-aircraft turret would normally be. If confirmed to be a working prototype, China would be the first in the world to have a warship carrying an electromagnetic railgun (EMRG)—a new type of armament capable of posing a severe threat to U.S. forward-deployed forces. Despite sinking over $500 million into research and development, the U.S. Navy has thus far been unable to successfully produce the weapon. The absence of any information on the design and the testing of the railgun prototype from Chinese authorities, however, casts doubt on whether the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) prototype even works.
The development of rail guns and other directed-energy weapons are the future of maritime superiority. So, should the U.S. military be concerned about the Chinese ships with next-generation weapons? Until we see a fully operational Chinese railgun launch a projectile using electromagnetic energy, the answer is “no.”
Read the full article in The National Interest
More from CNAS
-
Japan, a Hesitant Geopolitical Actor No More
Commentary
U.S. politics are a key driver of Japan’s geopolitical renaissance....
By Derek Grossman
-
China to Play Significant Role in Helping Iran Rebuild: Analyst
Video
Richard Fontaine, CEO at Center for a New American Security, says China will help Iran rebuild due to its close economic relationship, and because Iran can be used to contain ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Repairing the Breach
Reports
U.S.-India relations stumbled badly during the second half of 2025. Differences between U.S. and Indian officials over how a ceasefire was reached between New Delhi and Islama...
By Lisa Curtis, Keerthi Martyn & Sitara Gupta
-
Video
Indo-Pacific Security / Middle East Security
Iran U.S. War Latest Updates | ‘U.S., Israel Making Gains’: Lisa Curtis On Week 3 of Iran WarThree weeks into the Iran conflict, Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and program director at the Center for a New American Security, says the United States and Israel are making tac...
By Lisa Curtis
