【Foreign Media: Fujian Carrier Equipped with the World's First Hard-Kill Anti-Submarine Torpedo Defense System】
According to a report published on July 5, 2026, by Defense Security Asia (a regional defense and security website): China has decided to equip its aircraft carrier Fujian with what is reportedly a hard-kill anti-submarine torpedo system. This marks a paradigm shift in carrier survivability doctrine and may reshape submarine warfare calculations in the Indo-Pacific region over the next decade. As Beijing accelerates its transition from regional denial operations toward sustained long-range power projection aimed at challenging America’s longstanding maritime dominance in the Western Pacific, this alleged capability is gradually becoming evident.
Chinese military publication *Defense Review* describes the Fujian’s new underwater defense architecture as a specially designed active interception system intended to defeat advanced heavy torpedoes threatening high-value naval assets operating near contested maritime chokepoints. On July 3, 2026, *Southern Morning Post* subsequently highlighted this system, characterizing it as a technological response to the growing pressure posed by U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines operating increasingly close to American maritime periphery.
The Fujian-class carrier, with a full-load displacement exceeding 80,000 tons, is China’s first domestically designed supercarrier and also the first non-U.S. carrier equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) comparable to that of the U.S. Navy.
Increasingly, Chinese analysts believe that torpedoes launched from submarines pose a greater threat to carrier strike groups than anti-ship missiles, due to wire-guided heavy torpedoes capable of causing catastrophic structural damage below the waterline. Therefore, the reported anti-torpedo system reflects Beijing’s efforts to reduce operational vulnerabilities surrounding carrier survivability in potential high-intensity maritime conflicts involving U.S. or allied submarine fleets.
——The Fujian Carrier Signals China’s Shift from Passive Defense to Active Hard-Kill Naval Protection
Reportedly, the Fujian replaces the older twelve-tube deep-water bomb launchers previously installed on the Liaoning and Shandong carriers with a six-tube 324 mm lightweight torpedo launcher configured for active interception missions against incoming underwater threats. This transformation reflects a doctrinal evolution from traditional soft-kill defense systems—primarily relying on acoustic decoys and noise generators—toward a kinetic interception approach aimed at physically destroying incoming torpedoes before terminal impact.
According to Chinese military analysts, the system is specifically designed to intercept advanced torpedoes executing evasive maneuvers, including rapid depth changes, S-shaped navigation patterns, and adjustments to terminal attack profiles near the carrier group. The anti-torpedo interceptor reportedly combines rocket-assisted acceleration with a rare geothermal permanent magnet synchronous direct-drive pump-jet propulsion system, enabling it to reach speeds of 50 to 60 knots within approximately three seconds after launch.
Chinese reports further claim that this propulsion architecture maintains relatively low acoustic signatures, allowing the interceptor to operate without significantly degrading sonar detection performance or disrupting the broader anti-submarine warfare sensor network around the carrier group.
It is reported that the permanent magnet propulsion system enables millisecond-level adjustments to nozzle flow, blade pitch angle, and propulsion speed, thereby enabling rapid trajectory corrections during terminal interception sequences against maneuvering torpedo threats. According to *Defense Review*, future undersea combat will increasingly depend not only on interceptor speed but also on reaction speed, predictive tracking algorithms, and precision maneuverability in contested submarine warfare environments.
The interceptor reportedly employs a broadband sonar array capable of distinguishing genuine torpedo threats from acoustic decoys while maintaining pinpoint accuracy in targeting vulnerable structural components such as warhead compartments or propulsion systems. Chinese sources also claim the system utilizes high-speed bidirectional acoustic communication, enabling coordinated operations among multiple interceptors and the carrier’s integrated combat management network in complex, multi-axis underwater attack scenarios.
Reportedly, the system’s warhead configuration combines shaped-charge explosive and high-energy overpressure shockwave technology, designed to neutralize incoming torpedoes by destroying their structure before they reach lethal proximity to the carrier’s hull. Some Chinese descriptions mention the potential for supercavitation performance approaching 200 knots in extremely close-range engagements, though there is currently no independent verifiable evidence confirming the feasibility of such combat capabilities under real-world battlefield conditions.
If operational, this system could significantly complicate U.S. submarine attack plans, forcing adversary submarines to overcome multiple layers of active underwater interception before successfully attacking the Chinese carrier strike group.
Disclaimer: The above equipment data are sourced from reporting by Defense Security Asia.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869912835628042/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.