Electromagnetic launcher with improved rail energy recovery or dissipation

An electromagnetic projectile launcher is provided with muzzle circuitry which increases the rate of dissipation of inductively stored rail energy following the launch of a projectile and can be used to recover a portion of that stored energy for use in successive launches. The muzzle circuitry includes a pair of conductors which lie adjacent to the projectile launching rails and conduct current in a direction which is opposite to the current flow in the projectile rails. These conductors may be connected to a pulse transformer to increase the post-launch current of an inductive energy storage device. In an alternative embodiment, a capacitive muzzle circuit is used to store the inductive rail energy and inject current into the projectile launching rails during the launch of a successive projectile.