All-Electric Destroyer May Carry Electromagnetic Railgun

The U.S. Navy’s new Zumwalt class of stealth destroyers is seeking to redefine sea power. Quite literally.

In the past, ships used most of their installed power for propulsion, with the engines and propellers directly connected through large and complex gearboxes.

But the all-electric Zumwalt vessels will come equipped with so-called “integrated power systems (IPS),“ designed to route electricity around the ship in an instant, eliminating mechanical gearboxes and allowing the power to be used for both propulsion and other electrical systems – including powerful new weapons.

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