China mulls building nuclear-powered tank with 450km-range railgun in 2 decades

Chinese military researchers have detailed a concept for a nuclear-powered main battle tank with a long-range electromagnetic railgun. The plan, outlined in a peer-reviewed paper published in June, suggests the tank could be ready after 2045. This ambitious project envisions a 60-tonne vehicle powered by a 10-megawatt small modular reactor and equipped with a 50-megajoule railgun capable of striking targets up to 450 kilometers away. The research was conducted by scientists from Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group and the Beijing Institute of Technology, with funding from a special research project by the National Key Laboratory of Special Vehicle Design and Manufacturing Integration Technology.