The End Of Manned Navies : China's 10,000 km Range Nuclear Powered Drone Torpedoes (Conventional Warhead)

 

 

I have been following the development of the Russian Poseidon drone torpedo. It is unworkable. It is nuclear powered but it does not have the "discard" feature where the mini nuclear reactor is discarded before it explodes. That alone can contaminate the world's oceans for years.

Then secondly the Russian Poseidon carries a nuclear warhead - making it a doomsday weapon. No one wants to explode a nuclear bomb anymore. It will contaminate the entire atmosphere with radioactivity and other poisons. Nuclear weapons are just Stone Age. And soon even nuclear powers will go back to engaging in full scale conventional warfare against each other because they know neither one of them will use the nuclear option against each other.

India and Pakistan can revert to full scale conventional war again tomorrow without using nuclear weapons. India and China can revert to full scale conventional war tomorrow without using nuclear weapons. The same with Russia and America. Nuclear weapons mean total annihilation. No one is going to use them. Not even North Korea. 

Back to the Chinese drone torpedo - this is super dangerous. It has a mini nuclear reactor which will be dropped to the ocean floor at a certain time before the torpedo hits its target. This is to avoid radioactive contamination of the sea. I am sure it will have some  (possibly passive) detection, tracker device and  floatation mechanism to allow for its safe retrieval later.

And the most dangerous of all it has a conventional warhead. A conventional warhead may weigh 500kg to 1000kg which cannot even blow up a fishing pier - the explosive force is dispersed.

But a 1000kg warhead can certainly sink or severely cripple  any steel hulled aircraft carrier. Meaning these drones are targeted at ships and submarines. Folks the US Navy will have to retreat from the western Pacific Ocean.

We live in interesting times.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.