A silent and smokeless electromagnetic cannon featuring a touch screen that lets you chose if you want a lethal dose has been unveiled by a team of Chinese military engineers
A new weapon that can fire 2,000 projectiles a minute has been unveiled by Chinese authorities. And it could soon be used by the country’s military and police.
The China South Industries Group Corporation, which created the weapon and is owned by the Chinese state, revealed the ‘electromagnetic cannon’ on Sunday (April 5). As well as being nearly silent, when fired it produces almost no smoke or discarded shell casings, making it ideal for stealth operations.
Despite being small enough to hold in one hand and having just a 30cm barrel, the futuristic gun-like weapon can have its power increased or decreased depending on whether you want the round to be lethal, according to the South China Morning Post.
According to reports, it could fire up to 2,000 projectiles a minute and penetrate wooden boards from dozens of metres away. The weapon is also equipped with an electronic screen that provides the user with real-time information on battery life and ammunition count.
Its creators described how it uses electromagnetic coils to fire tiny metal projectiles. The cannon is based off a pre-existing creation called a Gauss gun, and works in a similar fashion. Essentially, within a Gauss gun is a strong magnet with a few balls stuck to its front, including the one that will be launched, while another ball rolls toward the back.
As it gets close, the magnet pulls it in, making it speed up. When it hits the stack, the energy travels through the balls and knocks the front ball off.
That ball flies away faster than the trigger ball came in. This happens because the magnet adds energy as it pulls the trigger ball in, and the front ball is far enough away that it escapes easily.
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the weapon was designed for stealth-based military missions and as a non-lethal alternative for police. On full power however, a round from the cannon could easily prove fatal.
This latest weapon is not China’s first foray into electromagnetic weaponry, with 2023 reports describing how the Asian superpower had tested the world’s most powerful coil gun, which is capable of launching a 273-pound projectile at speeds of 435 miles per hour, according to scientific news outlet Interesting Engineering.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .