A swarm of nuclear-powered torpedoes capable of crossing an ocean on their own to strike their target on another continent. Selon le South China Morning Post (SCMP), this possible cousin of a terrifying Russian equivalent, Poseidon 2M39, is not only the nightmare of captains of military ships: it would be a very real invention of Chinese researchers.
The SCMP claims to have been able to consult an article to this effect in the scientific Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems (Journal of Autonomous Underwater Systems), published by the state-owned conglomerate China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. This company is the largest shipbuilder in the country and 28% of its turnover comes from the arms industry.
In this article would appear the concept of a relatively inexpensive small-sized torpedo, capable of entering a torpedo tube classic and therefore to be fired from any submarine or destroyer. Its goal is to be cheap enough and easy to build so that it can be produced and launched in large quantities.
Nuclear-powered underwater drones are nothing new. The best known of them is the Russian “Status-6 multipurpose oceanic system” Poseidon 2M39, which we already mentioned at the beginning of this article.
This terrifying twenty-four by two meter nuclear weapon is supposedly capable of outmaneuvering sea defenses in order to strike coastal installations with enough power to destroy an entire city or cause a radioactive tsunami.
Good or bad news?
The good news is that with its torpedo, China is not aiming for such destructive power. As the scientists note, this kind of super-weapon could cause an apocalyptic nuclear war, and is therefore only meant to serve as a deterrent.
The bad news is that the Chinese weapon is well designed for use in combat. It uses a mini nuclear reactor capable of propelling it at 30 knots (55.5 km/h) for two hundred hours.
Disposable, it ends up unhooking and falling to the bottom of the water, while the torpedo completes its journey on battery power. Its autonomy would be sufficient to go from Shanghai to San Francisco. Although its propulsion is primarily nuclear, the torpedo’s warhead would consist of a conventional explosive charge.
The media The War Zone still wishes to point out that this weapon exists for the moment only at the state of concept. And that the South China Morning Post has already touted weapons in the past that never saw the light of day – propaganda can also play its part in these types of announcements.
Nuclear arsenal specialist Hans Kristensen reminds him that developing weapons technologies but leaving them on the shelves rather than deploying them is “an old Chinese habit”. “But it’s no surprise that China is working on technologies that it’s watching others develop.”
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