Military forces are an odd mix of ultra-conservative and amazingly-innovative. The US Navy is beginning the shift from conventional cannons which propel high explosives by exploding high explosives, to rail guns that shoot dumb, lethal metal spikes at near orbital velocities using electromagnetic drivers. The guns from World War II were impressive, but were based on technology reaching back into China and the invention of gunpowder. They were effective and dangerous. Gunpowder explodes, so storing it, moving it, and firing it could be hazardous to the crew. It was a limited resource aboard ship, and a target. Rail guns shoot metal spikes down long barrels of electromagnets. They are lethal and effective, pose far less risk to the crew, are smaller and easier to carry in bulk, and are simpler. Traveling at Mach 5, they are also faster. The shift is as significant as the shift from bow and arrow to musket.
“More Rail Guns And Lasers, Less Gunpowder” – Network World
Pretending Not To Panic 