Railguns are the larger and more destructive cousin of the [[Mass Driver]]. They require considerably more power, have higher recoil, have a slower rate of fire, and suffer wear on their components with each shot fired. More commonly deployed in space, where air resistance is no issue for the projectiles, these weapons are the longest range and highest velocity (non-laser) weapons in humanity’s arsenal. Some surface ships have been equipped with railguns, as well as some experimental ground vehicles. However, they are usually found built into ground-based facilities, with ample access to power and repair parts. --- When mounted on [[Spacecraft|spacecraft]], they are usually built into the central axis of the ship. This helps with the massive recoil and allows for maintenance crews to replace damaged rail components. Only the largest spacecraft and [[Orbital Defense Platform|Orbital Defense Platforms]] might have railguns built into turrets. --- The advantages railguns have over other projectile weapons are speed, stealth and range. The extreme range of a guided railgun projectile is even further than the best [[Laser Emitter|laser emitters]]. However, they are not accurate enough to hit spacecraft at extreme ranges, only stationary targets. The largest railguns can accelerate their projectiles to around 3000km/s, or ~1/1000 of the speed of light. At these speeds, there is no known armor which can withstand such an impact. Even [[Fuel Cask|fuel casks]] can be ruptured by direct railgun hits. An incoming railgun projectile is virtually undetectable, making them good candidates for first strike weapons. However, they have significantly decreased effectiveness when fired into an atmosphere (or within an atmosphere).