MELBOURNE, Australia \u2014 Images published online appear to suggest China has mounted what looks to be a prototype electromagnetic railgun on a ship, and started trials with the possibility of testing it at sea in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If confirmed, this would make China the first country in the world to mount such a system on board a ship and take it out to sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The series of photos on social media shows a large turret with what appears to be a gun barrel mounted on the front of the Haiyangshan, a 7,000-ton Type 072-III Landing Ship Tank of China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army \u2013 Navy or PLAN<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Three standard sized containers are mounted on the ship\u2019s open deck immediately aft of the turret, which are believed to be the generators and other associated equipment needed to power a railgun. Other modifications on the ship seen in the published photos also include a new additional observation gallery and an unknown sensor atop the original superstructure, which is believed to be a control room and observation platform related to the railgun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bow doors used for conducting amphibious operations has also been welded shut. It is not known where the modified ship was photographed, although the Haiyangshan was previously known to serve with the PLAN\u2019s East Sea Fleet. The ship has made at least one voyage post-modification, suggesting underway trials to test the seaworthiness of the modifications has begun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The choice of the Type 072-III to mount such a weapon would instead of the PLAN\u2019s Type 909 weapons testing ship would seem strange, however analysts have suggested that the power requirements of the railgun may have exceeded what the Type 909 can generate, hence the need to mount in on a Type 072-III, which has ample space above and belowdecks to accommodate power generators and other equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\t