September 20, 2020
Thanks To Russia's Supercavitating Torpedos, Undersea Warfare Will Never Be The Same
But, like with any weapon, there are drawbacks.
by Kyle Mizokami
Here's What You Need To Remember: A noisy—but effective—weapon, Shkval smashes the paradigm of undersea warfare. A 200 knot torpedo is a very attractive capability, and as naval competition heats up in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, we may see even more navies adopting supercavitating designs and adjusting their undersea tactics accordingly.
Imagine the sudden revelation of a weapon that can suddenly 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. While a lull in great power competition delayed the impact of this new technology, the so-called “supercavitating torpedo†may be about to take the world by storm.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/thanks-russias-supercavitating-torpedos-undersea-warfare-will-never-be-same-169126
