US navy to introduce hypersonic electric and laser guns

"It fundamentally changes the way we fight," Naval Sea Systems Command program manager Captain Mike Ziv said. Electromagnetic rail gun prototypes, which can shoot at six or seven times the speed of sound, are due to begin testing within just two years. "It fundamentally changes the way we fight," Naval Sea Systems Command program manager Captain Mike Ziv told the Independent. As a cheaper alternative to missiles and smart bombs, this evolution in weaponry may be the first step in bringing the world into a real-life Star Wars-era.