-Caveat Lector- > http://www.scientificamerican.com/2001/0501issue/0501ashley.html > > >From the F-8 net... > > This is what our EP-3 crew was watching... > > Russian 'Rocket' Torpedo Arms Chinese Subs > Charles R. Smith Tuesday, April 24, 2001 > sum: > The Chinese navy is arming itself with a deadly combination of silent > submarines, supersonic nuclear tipped Stealth missiles, and Shkval rocket > torpedoes. end sum > > Russia has developed new submarine-launched torpedoes that travel at > incredible speeds? Perhaps as fast as the speed of sound underwater. > > Scientific American reports in its May edition that these super > sophisticated weapons have been linked to the sinking of the Russian > submarine Kursk last August, and even to the arrest and imprisonment of > Edmond Pope. Pope, an American businessman, was charged by Russian > authorities with spying, specifically that he had sought to buy plans for > the "ultrahigh-speed torpedo." The magazine reports that "evidence does > suggest that both incidents revolved around an amazing and little-reported > technology that allows naval weapons and vessels to travel submerged at > hundreds of miles per hour? in some cases, faster than the speed of sound > in water. The swiftest traditional undersea technologies, in contrast, are > limited to a maximum of about 80 mph." > > The new technology that allows for these incredible speeds is "is based on > the physical phenomenon of super cavitation." > > According to Scientific American, the new generation of torpedoes, some > believed capable of carrying nuclear warheads, are surrounded by a > "renewable envelope of gas so that the liquid wets very little of the > body's surface, thereby drastically reducing the viscous drag" on the > torpedo. The new technology "could mean a quantum leap in naval warfare that > is analogous in some ways to the move from prop planes to jets or even to > rockets and missiles." In 1997 Russia announced that it had developed a > high-speed unguided underwater torpedo, which has no equivalent in the West. > Code-named the Shkval or "Squall," the Russian torpedo reportedly travels so > fast that no U.S. defense can stop it. > > In late 2000, after the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, new reports > began circulating that the Chinese navy had bought the Shkval torpedo. The > modern Russian weapon in Chinese navy hands has sent alarm bells ringing > through the halls of the Pentagon. "China purchased the Shkval rocket > torpedo," stated Richard Fisher, a defense analyst and senior fellow at the > Jamestown Foundation. > > "The Shkval was designed to give Soviet subs with less capable sonar the > ability to kill U.S. submarines before U.S. wire-guided anti-sub torpedoes > could reach their target. The Chinese navy would certainly want to have > this kind of advantage over U.S. subs in the future. At the speed that it > travels, the Shkval could literally punch a hole in most U.S. ships, with > little need for an explosive warhead." "This torpedo travels at a speed of > 200 knots, or five to six times the speed of a normal torpedo, and is > specially suited for attacking large ships such as aircraft carriers," > stated Fisher. The report that China purchased some 40 Shkval torpedoes from > Russia in 1998 has been confirmed by U.S. intelligence sources. > > Pentagon officials also confirmed that a Chinese naval officer was on board > the ill-fated Russian submarine Kursk to observe firings of the Shkval. The > Shkval rocket first came to light in the Western press in April 2000 when > Russian FSB security services charged American businessman Edward Pope with > spying for the U.S. According to Russian intelligence sources, Pope > obtained detailed information on the rocket-powered torpedo. A FSB statement > said it confiscated "technical drawings of various equipment, recordings of > his conversations with Russian citizens relating to their work in the > Russian defense industry, and receipts for American dollars received by > them." > > The 6,000-pound Shkval rocket torpedo has a range of about 7,500 yards and > can fly through the water at more than 230 miles an hour. The > solid-rocket-propelled "torpedo" achieves this high speed by producing a > high-pressure stream of bubbles from its nose and skin, which coats the > weapon in a thin layer of gas. The Shkval flies underwater inside a giant > "envelope" of gas bubbles in a process called "super cavitation." > > The Russian Pacific Fleet held the first tests of the Shkval torpedo in the > spring of 1998. In early 1999, Russia began marketing a conventionally armed > version of the Shkval high-speed underwater rocket at the IDEX 99 exhibition > in Abu Dhabi. The Shkval is so fast that it is guided by an autopilot rather > than by a homing head as on most torpedoes. The original Shkval was designed > to carry a tactical nuclear warhead detonated by a simple timer clock. > > However, the Russians recently began advertising a homing version, which > runs out at very high speed, then slows to search for its target. There are > no evident countermeasures to the Shkval and, according to weapons experts, > its deployment by Russian and Chinese naval forces has placed the U.S. Navy > at a considerable disadvantage. "We have no equivalent, its velocity would > make evasive action exceedingly difficult, and it is likely that we have no > defense against it," stated Jack Spencer, a defense analyst at the Heritage > Foundation. > > According to the Jamestown Foundation's Richard Fisher, China is acquiring a > fleet of blue-water submarines armed with the deadly Shkval. In a recent > defense report, Fisher noted the Chinese navy is arming itself with a deadly > combination of silent submarines, supersonic nuclear tipped Stealth missiles > and Shkval rocket torpedoes. Fisher warned that the new Chinese navy is > capable of operating far from Asian shores. "There are reports that the > Chinese navy's current subs do not have tubes large enough to fire the > Shkval. The Chinese navy has completed the acquisition of four Russian > Kilo-class conventional submarines. > > The Kilo 636 is said to be nearly as quiet as the early version of the U.S. > Los Angeles class nuclear submarine," noted Fisher. "This very high speed > torpedo would provide the PLA with the technology to build their own > version, and this is a looming threat," stated Fisher. "The next few years > may also see China produce a new class of nuclear-powered submarine, the > Type 093. > > Again benefiting from Russian technology." The Chinese Type 093-class > nuclear attack submarines are similar to Russian Victor III class first > produced at the Leningrad yards in the 1970s. Each Chinese Type 093 weighs > more than 5,000 tons and is over a football field in length. The Chinese > type 093 submarines are armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes that are > large enough to fire the super-fast Shkval. "The Type 093 is projected by > the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence to have a performance similar to the > Russian Victor-III nuclear attack submarine. By one estimate, four to six > type 093s should enter service by 2012," concluded Fisher. -30- > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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