This paper performs the inductance and phase coupling analysis of a tubular permanent magnet machine with transverse flux configuration for electromagnetic launch (EML) applications. Self-inductance and mutual inductance are calculated by employing a frozen permeability finite element technique, and the results are validated by measurement on a prototype machine. The analysis of phase coupling problem is then undertaken, and it has been shown that the tubular transverse flux machine has the merit of magnetic decoupling between phases, and thus shows a brilliant prospect in EML applications. The influence of armature reaction on the inductance is also investigated, and it indicates that at higher current, the inductance fluctuates once instead of twice within one electrical cycle, which is quite different from that in conventional machines.