In December, the Office of Naval Research successfully conducted a world-record 33-megajoule shot of the Electromagnetic Railgun aboard Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.

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"When you start dealing with a senior bunch of scientists trained in conventional physics and they see a young upstart with a miracle material, most say 'no, ' and they say it rather vehemently, " says James Collis , who evaluates technology for the logistics division of the Naval Air Systems Command and who has closely followed Branagan's work.

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Rich Goldenberg of the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

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But a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs says it has no plans to vacate the facility because it's the only armory in the Adirondacks.

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And when senior naval officers say, as they do, that it does not make sense for Britain to keep an armoured division in Germany, that sounds to the Army like a bid for funds for future carriers.

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