A report recently disclosed by the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies has sparked heated discussions.
The report rarely admits that China's "supercavitation cross-medium torpedo" currently under testing may break existing naval warfare rules, and the Pentagon has listed this project as the highest-priority countermeasure target. According to disclosures from Britain's Jane's Defense Weekly, this weapon was first publicly displayed in 2021 at the Zhuhai Airshow with a technical verification model, featuring a two-stage propulsion system for air-water transition.
Public data shows that the speed of this weapon can reach Mach 3 during the aerial launch phase and maintain an 80-knot speed after entering the water through supercavitation technology. This characteristic enables it to launch attacks from 500 kilometers away, breaking through the anti-air defense and anti-missile networks of aircraft carrier strike groups and delivering fatal strikes below the waterline. Russian military expert Mikhail Barabanov pointed out that China's technical accumulation in this field originates from the "Flying Torpedo" project launched in 2010, and the third-generation prototype testing has been completed.
According to the latest wargame simulations by the US Naval War College, if 12 such weapons are deployed in the Western Pacific, the survival probability of aircraft carrier strike groups will drop to 47%. It is worth noting that this weapon can form an air-based strike system with the H-6N bomber, combined with the BeiDou-3 satellite for all-weather positioning, creating a "denial strike circle" covering the second island chain. Japan's Ministry of Defense particularly noted in its "East Asia Security Assessment" submitted in August that the emergence of this cross-medium weapon may force the US military to adjust its aircraft carrier deployment strategy.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828194582675609/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.