Posted on 04/02/2006 7:58:24 AM PDT by msrngtp2002
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Sunday it has successfully test fired a high-speed underwater missile capable of destroying warships and submarines.
The Iranian-made missile has a speed of about 222 mph underwater, Gen. Ali Fadavi, deputy head of the Navy of the elite Revolutionary Guards, said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Here we have a country that has limited access to technology that claims to have developed weapons that exceed the capabilities of all others.
Assuming some country has the wherewithall to take this regime out the world will see the smoke and mirrors that Iran is practicing. They should have learned a lesson from Saddam about writing checks that your weapons can't cash!
Meanwhile, back in the US, they are testing bunker buster bombs.
Cool, can we test fire some of ours in their direction?
The only weapon that I am aware of that is that fast underwater is the Russian Shkval Rocket torpedo.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/shkval.htm
So- this is either Iranian bluster, or the Russians have been giving Iran some very advanced stuff.
The technology exists and is for sale by the Russians. Of course the Iranians aren't saying that that's where they got it (if indeed they did).
Iran's latest brand new top top secret fighting weapon and indefeatable body armor system....
On April 5, 2000, an American businessman, Edmond Pope, and a Russian colleague were arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow. The men were charged with stealing scientific secrets -- specifically information on the Shkval torpedo. Pope, a retired U.S. Navy captain who spent the majority of his career working in naval intelligence, was then the head of a private security firm. Two weeks after the arrest, the FSB claimed that Pope was seeking plans for the high-speed underwater missile. The retired navy officer was detained during informal contact with one of the Russian scientists who helped to create the torpedo.
If so, expect to see overhead imagery of convoys heading north into the former Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan and/or Turkmenistan, quite likely the latter, which would love to get a pipeline intro and/or through Iran.
If you read the story, you'll see there was video of the launch and impact of the weapon. You'll also see that the US Navy spokesman for the region, while not outright admitting the event actually occurred, comes about as close as they ever do to acknowledging the test.
If they only have a few test versions, that's one thing, if the Russians have provided significant numbers, which might only be dozens, of them, that changes things quite a bit. It means the carriers will have to stand off of range of this thing, or wait for the Air Force B-1s and B-2s, and maybe a few -117s for the ships that carry it, to clear the path.
Now that I see the range is "only" 7,500 meters, that's not really much of a problem. The thing is more of a threat to our submarines. If they fire on an enemy sub, which up 'til that point did not know they were there, this thing provides a countermeasure, as it could kill the US sub before it's torpedo(s) can take out the enemy boat. At worst they'd trade one inshore deisle electric for a deep water nuke, which is a pretty good trade.
There are undoubtedly surface applications as well. Don't the Iranians have some missile and torpedo/patrol boats, which could launch or be converted to launch this beastie?
Gotta disagree. This weapon is really good for taking out very large surface targets. Imagine a battery of these things close to the choke point that is the Straight of Hormuz. It amounts to a stand-off mine field -- one that can't be swept, and doesn't need to be laid in advance. Just 1 could probably take out the largest crude carriers.
The other logical target is an aircraft carrier, but we aren't going to push a CVBG into contested waters from which of the SSK's might be able to get a shot off.
Remember the range is only 7500 meters, less than 5 miles. The Straight of Hormuz is way wider than that, more like 30 miles at the point were Iran is closest to the opposite shore. SSKs can be "swept", either in port (where Iranian SSK are most likely to be, for lack of operability and/or trained crews) or the first time they stick their 'scope or snorkel up. The P-3s would on them like ducks on a June bug. They only have six at most, assuming all are currently serviceable. Two different models of Kilo.
I'm not sure that this supercavitating torpedo will actually make it onto an Iranian Sub. More likely they'll put a few of them onto their fast patrol craft and use them to attack large crude carriers as the opening shot of the war. Naval guerilla tactics. I would imagine those PB's have pretty limited ASW sensors, so they probably won't be looking for our subs with that weapon.
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