Then the projectile burns the gases as fuel, because it is shaped like a ramjet or scramjet core, and accelerates under jet propulsion.
In a normal ramjet, air is compressed between a spike-shaped centerbody and an outer cowling, fuel is added and burned, and high speed exhaust gases are expanded supersonically out of the nozzle to generate thrust.
The resulting pressure differential generates a prodigious amount of thrust that can accelerate projectiles to in-tube Mach numbers greater than 8.
To span a wide range in a typical ram accelerator system, multiple stages with propellants with different sound speeds are used to maintain high performance.
[citation needed] Ram accelerator technology has also been envisioned for military applications such as ultra-long range striking and intercepting capabilities against stationary and on-the-move threats.
The fact that the projectile accelerates and travels at very high velocities makes it a perfect alternative to anti-ship warfare, giving it abilities to evade defense systems.