Defenses may be difficult against supercavitating torpedo able to knife through the water at 200 knots
MOSCOW – Imagine the sudden revelation of a weapon like a torpedo that suddenly can go six times faster than its predecessors. The shock of such a breakthrough system would turn an entire field of warfare on its head, as potential adversaries scrambled to deploy countermeasures to a new weapon they are defenseless against. The National Interest reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
24 Aug. 2020 -- While a lull in great power competition delayed the impact of this new technology, the supercavitating torpedo may be about to take the world by storm.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union relied heavily on its submarine fleet to negate America’s advantage in naval forces. The Soviets at first used sheer numbers of diesel electric submarines, then more advanced nuclear attack submarines, to whittle down the odds.
One of the most innovative underwater weapons developed by the Soviet Union was the VA-111 Shkval (“Squall”) supercavitating torpedo. Powered by a rocket engine, it could knife through the water at 200 knots. But in a world where physics ensured most ships and underwater weapons topped out at 50 knots, how did Russian engineers accomplish such a breakthrough in speed?
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
