Reply #10: The exit velocity looks pretty good, the throw weight is low

[social_critic]

A high powered rifle has an exit velocity of 2799 ft/s. Mach 8 is about 1116 ft/s times 8, or 8928 ft/sec. That's more than triple the velocity of a 16-inch Mark 8 shell (2500 ft/sec). So the question is, what's the rail gun supposed to hit? If it's a tank, then a 20 lb steel and depleted uranium shell ought to carve a pretty big hole. The question is whether one should be running around with a tank carrying a school bus on top to launch a bullet.

Which tells me this is more of a bs research project, more military spending running amok. They can accomplish the same result with a small missile.