A group of scientists out of Beijing, China, have proposed a new methodology for designing and applying a nuclear reactor-integrated torpedo similar to Russia's 'Poseidon' super-weapon. Headed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy's Guo Jian, the team has proposed using a kind of torpedo swarm technology stemming from the nuclear reactor, allowing the proposed weapon in question to traverse the Pacific Ocean in all but a week.
The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems, a peer-reviewed publication headed by China's largest naval contractor, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. While bearing a somewhat similar concept to the Russian Poseidon missile, the team's report, brought to light via the South China Morning Post, exemplifies some major differences with the Slavic iteration.
Guo's version leverages a more cost-effective design and scalable production procedure, integrating a small nuclear reactor into the shaft of a torpedo tube. This allows the weapon to be launched essentially from any warship or submarine. The fitted modular nuclear reactor allows each torpedo to maintain cruising speeds of around 30 knots, or 35 mph, for a whopping 200 full hours. And it doesn't stop there, as following its 200-hour-long trajectory, the torpedo would then relinquish its reactor to the seabed and continue toward its objective using an internal battery.
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"Thanks to its high flexibility and low cost, this unmanned underwater vehicle equipped with the nuclear power system can be used as a conventional force like an attack nuclear submarine, rather than as a nuclear missile," explains Guo.
According to the scientist, China is increasing its foothold in the unmanned maritime space, exponentially boosting its demand for all forms of varied warfare needs, most prominent among them being said vehicles for "reconnaissance, tracking, attack, and strategic strike." However, the underlying purpose inherent in such a device - the iterated Chinese nuclear torpedo and even the Russian Poseidon missile - falls into the territory of mutually assured destruction.
Various defense experts and reports led by the Russian media posit that the country's Poseidon weapon can level an entire coastal city via its two-megaton nuclear warhead, the equivalent of 100 times that of the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima. This devastation made manifest would wreak havoc on the world, not just the area in question, evidenced by the still-ongoing environmental and health issues wrought by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Thus, the team's goal with the research is merely to highlight the potential for this military might and act as a strategic weapon if needed. The researchers are considering even lower costs in the design due largely to the already high-priced assets inherent in its nuclear power. Guo's team is looking to replace military grade-products with internationally-sold components. They already utilize graphite and other cheaper minerals in the reactor's core to keep costs at a minimum, but swift and improved manufacturing are the main drivers.
