HYPERSONIC MISSILE CASUALTY: The Navy’s Railgun Is Finally Dead.

The U.S. Navy’s push to create a $500 million electromagnetic railgun weapon—capable of slinging projectiles at hypersonic speeds—appears to have come to an end. The service is ending funding for the railgun without having sent a single weapon to sea, while pushing technology derived from the program into existing weapons.

The weapon is a victim of a change in the Navy’s direction toward faster, longer-range weapons that are capable of striking ships and land targets in a major war.

Just because it’s very cool technology doesn’t mean it was the right technology. Still, I’d love to see some other application for it.