heres a nice new toy to keep in mind, and remember if they have gotten far enough in the field to make a ship mounted version. then,,,,,,, the smaller less powerful hand held unit's were first to be developed.. and tested in the labs to see if the thing would even work at all..... that time of prototype designing most likely took place about 10-15 yrs ago..
The U.S. Navy is tapping the power of the Force to wage war.
Its latest weapon is an electromagnetic railgun launcher. It uses a form of electromagnetic energy known as the Lorentz force to hurl a 23-pound projectile at speeds exceeding Mach 7. Engineers already have tested this futuristic weapon on land, and the Navy plans to begin sea trials aboard a
Joint High Speed Vessel Millinocket in 2016
Navy’s New Railgun Can Hurl a Shell Over 5,000 MPH | Danger Room | WIRED