Rods from god, the orbital electromagnetic railguns.

 Rods from god, the orbital electromagnetic railguns. 

Artist's impression of a kinetic bombardment system: "Project Thor"

There have been plans to develop electromagnetic railguns that send ammunition to the target at a speed of approximately Mach 7. There have been tests in the USA and China of railguns equipped on landing ships and other naval vessels. Those systems are officially meant for destroying drones and other naval vessels and sweeping the landing beaches out from enemy bunkers. There is one little thing. that people don’t usually think. Things like laser- and microwave weapons are more effective against drones. 

They can destroy large groups of drones, and those systems do not use physical ammunition. That means their firepower is unlimited. In railguns, the ammunition sets the limit of firing. There is always a possibility that in the case of the drone swarms, the defender runs out of ammunition. And that means lasers are far better defense systems against those drone swarms. 

But are those railguns meant for orbital bombardment? In the Reagan administration, the space defense initiative. (SDI). Or so-called “Star Wars” program was planned to create orbital railguns. The name of that project is "Project Thor". Those railguns' mission was to make orbital bombardment operations. Using the kinetic energy arrows. The idea was that the orbital railgun shoots those arrows to the ground. The power of those rods or arrows was far less than a nuclear warhead. But those systems can deliver more precise destruction than nuclear weapons. And they will not cause radioactive fallout. 

In Reagan's time, that system was denied. The price was too high. But today, AI and advanced power technology make it possible to create an orbital firebase that can shoot metal rods to the ground with ultimate precision. In Reagan’s time, there was only a nuclear power option in those systems. And today small, portabel nuclear reactors are “easy” to send to the orbital trajectory. 

Chinese railgun. The gun itself can be mounted to an orbital trajectory. Because of its quite small size. (Image: SCMP)

When we think of the case of an orbital railgun that shoots 60-kilogram rods. Using a speed of about Mach 7. That means each of those rods has kinetic energy, which corresponds to 41 tons of TNT. This information is from Gemini. That explosion power is far higher than any conventional bomb. And that is one of the reasons why orbital kinetic energy bombardment is an interesting option. Those rods can be shot from the cargo bay of some space shuttles using rocket boosters. Or the orbital railgun can shoot them into the targeted area. Chinese researchers develop a railgun. That can shoot 60-kilogram rods to the target at a speed of Mach 7,2. 

There is a possibility that there have been plans to transfer that system into the orbital trajectory. Kinetic bombardment is one  solution that can be used in these cases. Those nukes are not possible to use. The railgun can destroy cities by sending a salvo of those rods to it. Those rods can be dangerous for things. Like naval vehicles. The problem is how to aim those systems at the right point. Optical telescopes, highly precise radars, and AI can solve that problem. The system can use solar panels to load its capacitors for high-power magnets. 

The large space structures can make it possible to create more powerful weapon systems than some “rods from god” can be. But the thing is that those kinetic weapons can deliver more precise destruction than some nuclear weapons. Those systems can be used to destroy enemy troops on the battlefield. The system might not destroy the entire city by using one rod. The system can shoot a salvo of those rods to the area. And if each of those rods has the same energy as 41 tons of TNT, says Gemini AI, that turns the area into dust. 

Relativistic ammunition is one superweapon that we can create, maybe quite soon. Those ammunition are extremely fast kinetic energy ammunition. The speed can be 5-50% of the speed of light. Relativistic ammunition can destroy comets. Or asteroids, or the dwarf planets that are on a course to Earth. Those systems can also destroy cities and the entire planet. 

The relativistic ammunition (Relativistic Kinetic Vehicle, RKV)is one of the versions of the railgun. And kinetic energy ammunition. The system can use a very long particle accelerator. That is created by using self-assembly structures. In those systems. The particle accelerators are in satellites. Those satellites will dock themselves to the entirety. Then the system. That can get its energy from solar panels on each satellite. The length of those systems can be tens- or even hundreds of kilometers. Then that particle accelerator shoots the round with speed that can be about 5-30% of speed of light. That kind of system turns the ammunition so high-energy that it can destroy even the entire planet. 

https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/china-reloads-railgun-ambitions-as-japan-tests-and-us-powers-down/

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/project-thor-what-america-s-new-rods-from-god-space-based-superweapon-can-do

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318687/chinese-army-scientists-propose-super-x-railgun-much-more-powerful-navys

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3262607/chinas-rail-gun-sends-smart-bomb-stratosphere-hypersonic-speed-then-something-goes-wrong

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_Project_Thor_would_fire_tungsten_poles_at_targets_from_outer_space_999.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment