As far as Rail Gun is concerned, I think as of now, its more of a propaganda gun then a feasible one. Lets take these into accounts, the main strength of a Rail Gun is in its projectile velocity which works fine in a direct line of sight firing. But when you consider firing it like a Howitzer, I don't see much difference as the projectile would come down at a speed of 10m/s, same as that of a Howitzer.
The hypersonic speed of the projectile give it the distance, very true, but we have also to take into account the mass of the projectile it shoots. E.g. a normal 155/52 mm guns shoot a projectile of 5/6 kg to a distance of say 24km, then a rail gun would fire the same projectile to say at least 50 km or so, but to fire the same it would require a massive power house which in turn would increase its operational cost (as discussed earlier).
The projectile tested so far from BAE system Rail Gun is ob around 2/3 kg and moreover its completely unguided. So I think, against an enemy bunker in Himalayas, a Howitzer firing 6kg round is far more suitable then a Railgun with all its powerhouse et.al firing a 3kg projectle.
But yeah, I think rail gun could play a far more defensive role against aircraft, cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile then the offensive role.
