Rail weapons are among the most powerful and precise armaments fielded by the T'au Empire, using intense magnetic force to accelerate a solid slug to hypervelocity. Where other armies rely on explosives or energy beams, a railgun hurls a dense projectile so fast that it punches clean through the heaviest armour, often passing entirely through a target and any others unfortunate enough to stand behind it. The largest patterns can cripple a battle tank or war machine with a single, thunderous shot.
This combination of range, accuracy, and armour-defeating power makes rail weapons the premier anti-armour and long-range assets of the T'au. Their advanced battlesuits carry man-portable rail rifles, while heavier railguns are mounted on their hover-tanks and gun drones, allowing the T'au to engage and destroy enemy heavy units from a great distance, in keeping with their preference for ranged warfare over bloody melee.
The sophistication of rail technology reflects the T'au's rapid mastery of science and engineering, a young and expansionist race whose weapons often outstrip those of far older powers. A railgun's shot is announced by a distinctive crack and a streak of superheated air, and its terrible penetrating power leaves little to chance. For an enemy commander, the presence of T'au rail weapons means that no vehicle, however heavily armoured, can be considered safe.