Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force to begin testing of railgun installation on ship

The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) will soon commence testing of a new type of electromagnetic railgun that has been installed on one of its experimental ships.

The weapon fitted on JS Asuka will undergo a series of performance evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the equipment.

The tests will also lead to the development of similar electromagnetic weapons of smaller calibre for installation on the JMSDF's surface combatants.

The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) of the Japanese Ministry of Defence had earlier confirmed that Asuka participated in shipboard firing tests of an older railgun system in 2023 as part of a full-scale development project that was begun in 2016.

ATLA said the railgun now installed on Asuka will determine the system's continuous firing capability, whereas the weapon that was tested earlier was optimised for single-shot firings.

Continuous firing capability would enable JMSDF ships to more successfully engage and neutralise multiple targets within a brief window.