Rossiyskaya Gazeta, with reference to Interfax, cites an interview on this issue with the General Director of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation, Boris Obnosov. This leader stated that the torpedo tests are planned to be carried out exactly as scheduled. Obnosov also said that in parallel with Shkval, his company is working on creating mini-torpedoes with artificial intelligence: low-speed, but absolutely invisible.

Weapons of Russia

Meanwhile, back in November 2017, RG.ru reported on the upcoming modernization of the Shkval missile-torpedo. The modernization of Shkval is included in the state armament program for 2018-2025, Boris Obnosov, head of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation, previously said.

The Shkval complex was put into service in 1977. The underwater missile's cruising speed of 375 kilometers per hour is achieved by moving in a cavitation cavity (steam bubble), which reduces water resistance, and by using an underwater jet engine powered by solid hydro-reacting fuel. The use of cavitation significantly reduces the possibilities for maneuver, and instead of a homing head, a receiver of sea water necessary for engine operation is installed in the nose of the rocket. Initially, Shkval was equipped with a thermonuclear warhead with a capacity of 150 kilotons, then a non-nuclear version with 210 kilograms of explosives appeared.

topwar.ru publishes the history of the creation of o-torpedo missiles, which will have significantly improved performance characteristics.

Initially, the VA-111 Shkval, equipped with both conventional and nuclear charges, was forward-moving (unguided), had a range of up to 13 kilometers and reached a speed of up to 100 meters per second under water.

The portal "Military Review" wrote in detail about this product in 2012. The creation of a missile torpedo begins with the SV decree No. 111-463 of 1960. The main designer of the missile-torpedo is Research Institute No. 24, today known as SNPP Region. A sketch of the project was prepared by 1963, at which time the project was approved for development. Design data of the new torpedo:
- range of use up to 20 kilometers;
- speed on the march is almost 200 knots (100 meters per second);
- unification for standard TA;

The principle of using "Shkval"
The application of this underwater missile is as follows: the carrier (ship, coastal launcher), when detecting an underwater or surface object, works out the characteristics of speed, distance, direction of movement, and then sends the received information to the autopilot of the missile-torpedo. What is noteworthy is that the underwater missile does not have a seeker; it simply carries out the program that the autopilot sets for it. As a result, the missile cannot be distracted from the target by various interferences and objects.

Testing a high-speed missile torpedo
Testing of the first samples of the new missile-torpedo began in 1964. Tests are taking place in the waters of Issyk-Kul. In 1966, testing of the Shkval began on the Black Sea, near Feodosia, from the diesel submarine S-65. Underwater missiles are constantly being improved. In 1972, another sample with the working designation M-4 could not pass the full test cycle due to problems in the design of the sample. The next model, which received the working designation M-5, successfully passes the full cycle of tests and, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1977, under the code VA-111, the missile-torpedo was accepted into service with the Navy.

Despite the rapid development of scientific and technological progress, torpedoes, like a hundred years ago, remain one of the main types of weapons of the navy. Moreover, torpedo weapons are the main means of defense and attack of submarines, and they also remain the main tool in the fight against the underwater threat.

The first samples of torpedoes appeared in the second half of the 19th century; it was thanks to these weapons that the First World War became the “finest hour” for submarines.

Torpedoes were continuously improved, becoming faster, smarter and more deadly. But fundamentally, little has changed in their design: most torpedoes are self-propelled cylindrical underwater vehicles that are propelled by propellers.

For several decades, torpedoes were practically the only weapon of submarines; the situation changed only in the second half of the 20th century, when submarines turned into floating launch pads for ballistic and cruise missiles.

This material will talk about the very unusual Shkval missile-torpedo, which is in service with the Russian Navy.

A little history

According to Russian historiography, the design of the first torpedo was developed by the Russian designer Aleksandrovsky in 1865. However, it was considered premature and was not implemented in Russia.

The first operational torpedo was created by the Englishman Robert Whitehead in 1866, and in 1877 this weapon was first used in combat conditions. In the following decades, torpedo weapons are actively developing, even a special class of ships appears - destroyers, the main weapons of which are torpedoes.

Torpedoes were actively used during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905; most of the Russian ships in the Battle of Tsushima were sunk by Japanese destroyers.

The first torpedoes ran on compressed air or had a steam-gas power plant, which made their use less efficient. Such a torpedo left behind a clearly visible trail of gas bubbles, which gave the attacked ship the opportunity to dodge it.

After World War I, development of a torpedo with an electric motor began, but making it turned out to be very difficult. This idea was brought to life only in Germany before the start of the next world war.

Modern torpedoes pose a serious threat to any surface ship and submarine. They reach speeds of up to 60-70 knots, can hit targets at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers, and are guided using sonar or using the physical characteristics of the vessel. Also widely used are torpedoes that are guided via a special optical fiber from a surface vessel or submarine.

In the 60s of the last century, the USSR began developing the unusual Shkval torpedo, which was radically different from any analogues. The development of this project was carried out by Research Institute No. 24 (State Scientific and Production Enterprise “Region”). A year later, tests began on Lake Issyk-Kul, and finalization of the product took more than ten years.

In 1977, the missile-torpedo was put into service; at first it had a nuclear warhead with a capacity of 150 kt, then the torpedo received a warhead with a conventional explosive. It is still in service with the Russian Navy today.

An export version, Shkval-E, was produced in Russia. Its cost is 6 million dollars.

There is information about the creation of a new, more advanced modification of the jet torpedo, which has a longer range and a more powerful warhead. It should be noted that there is quite a bit of information about Shkval; much of the information is still secret.

It must also be said that opinions about this torpedo (or rather, about the effectiveness of its use) vary greatly. The press usually talks about Shkval as a super-weapon, but many experts do not support this point of view, considering Shkval useless in real combat conditions.

The public first learned about the existence of a unique high-speed torpedo in Russia after a spy scandal involving US citizen Edmund Pope, who allegedly wanted to remove blueprints for this weapon from Russia.

The main unique difference between the Shkval and other torpedoes is its incredible speed: it is capable of developing more than 200 knots underwater. It is very difficult to achieve such indicators in an aquatic environment that has a high density.

The highlight of the Shkval is its engine: while a conventional torpedo moves forward due to the rotation of its propellers, the Shkval uses a jet engine as a power plant. However, to develop such an unimaginable speed under water, a jet propulsion is not enough. To achieve such speed indicators, Shkval uses the supercavitation effect; during movement, an air bubble appears around the torpedo, which significantly reduces the resistance of the external environment.

Description of the device and engine

“Shkval” has a jet engine; it consists of a starting accelerator, which accelerates the torpedo, and a sustainer engine, which delivers it to the target.

The torpedo's propulsion engine is a ramjet hydrojet; for its operation it uses metals that react with water (magnesium, lithium, aluminum), and sea water as an oxidizer.

When a torpedo reaches a speed of 80 m/s, an air cavitation bubble begins to form near its bow, which significantly reduces hydrodynamic drag. But speed alone is not enough: on the nose of the Shkval there is a special device - a cavitator, through which additional gas injection occurs from a special gas generator. This is how a cavitation cavity is formed, which envelops the entire body of the torpedo.

Shkval does not have a homing head; the target coordinates are entered immediately before launch. The torpedo turns are carried out due to the rudders and the deflection of the cavitator head.

Advantages and disadvantages

Without a doubt, the Shkval missile torpedo is a unique technical product, the creation of which was worked on by specialists from various fields of knowledge. To create it, it was necessary to create new materials, design an engine operating on different principles, and study the phenomenon of cavitation as applied to jet propulsion. But is a weapon with so many revolutionary characteristics effective?

The Shkval's main advantage is its amazing speed, but this is also the main reason for its shortcomings.

These include the following:

• high noise level;
• the cavitation bubble makes it impossible to control the torpedo and its homing;
• short torpedo range: on older versions up to 7 km, on new versions it was increased to 13 km;
• insufficient maximum immersion depth of the torpedo (no more than 30 m), this makes it ineffective for destroying submarines;
• low accuracy.

As can be seen from the above, Shkval has a large number of limitations that make its effective use difficult. It is extremely difficult for a submarine to approach the enemy within 7-13 km. Launching a torpedo that makes a “hellish” noise is almost guaranteed to reveal the location of the submarine and put it on the brink of destruction.

Currently, the torpedo weapons of the leading naval powers are developing along a slightly different path. Remote-controlled (cable-controlled) torpedoes with increasingly greater range and accuracy are being developed. In addition, designers are working to reduce the noise of torpedo weapons.

This concept can be compared to using a sniper rifle on the battlefield, where one accurate shot from a long distance makes all the difference.

Foreign analogues

When mentioning the Shkval torpedo, it is always emphasized that only Russia has such a weapon. For a long time it was like that. But in 2005, representatives of the German company Diehl BGT Defense announced the creation of a new supercavitation torpedo, the Barracuda.

According to the developers, its speed is so high that it overtakes its own sound waves propagating in the water. Therefore, it is very difficult to detect it. In addition, the Barracuda is equipped with the latest homing system, and the movement of the torpedo can be controlled (unlike the Russian torpedo). There is not enough information about this torpedo in open sources.

Video about the Shkval torpedo

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

The domestic Shkval torpedo, known as the fastest in the world, will be modernized to meet new goals and objectives, said the general designer of the Dagdizel specialized plant (Dagestan), the first chairman of the Russian Scientific Council for Torpedo Engineering, Academician Shamil Aliyev.

This is impossible. This contradicts all laws of physics. This cannot be implemented technically. Scientists all over the world thought so. But the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute denied their opinion.

“One of the open issues that I am dealing with now is designing the hydrodynamic appearance of the future Shkval-type torpedo, determining the boundary of air and water in the cavern. When we define it, we will be able to “load” it. We will understand what the payload could be. The hydrodynamic appearance means the basis for the layout of an underwater missile, its capabilities,” Aliyev said.

As an example, he said that when the world realized that the effectiveness of Shkval was “nightmarish,” they began to try to make it controllable, RIA Novosti reports.

“For example, the American analogue of Shkval involves wearing a special multi-layer sensor “skirt”. That is, several “skirts” of sensors are put on the torpedo along the body, which receive signals from operators, and depending on the command, the torpedo can change course,” the academician said.

The first “Shkval” was created in the 50s of the 20th century; these torpedoes are capable of traveling underwater in an air cavity at a speed of up to 500 km/h (depending on the density of the water environment) (!!! - sgerr).

In June, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Caspian plant Dagdizel, after negotiations with the acting head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov, agreed to conclude a contract worth 5 billion rubles.

In March, it became known that a criminal case had been initiated due to Dagdizel’s failure to fulfill a state contract for the supply and modernization of military missiles worth 2 billion 700 million rubles.

Dagdizel is one of the oldest and largest factories in Dagestan, founded in 1932. In Soviet times, it was considered one of the leading diesel and torpedo manufacturing plants in the USSR. Since 2008, it has been part of the Marine Underwater Weapons - Gidropribor concern.

The company is engaged in the development and production of marine underwater weapons for the Navy, the creation of industrial and marine diesel engines, diesel power plants for land and marine purposes, the manufacture of fittings for ventilation and air conditioning systems of ships, vessels and watercraft, as well as various machines for agricultural, construction and food purposes.

The first "Shkval" appeared in the USSR in the 60s. It was put into service in November 1977 as part of the Shkval complex. High speed is achieved by equipping the torpedo rocket with a unique jet engine running on liquid metal fuel.

This multi-purpose high-speed underwater missile is designed to destroy surface and underwater targets. Targeting is carried out according to the target coordinates previously entered into its control system, which guarantees its 100% noise immunity. The foreign analogue is the Barracuda anti-submarine torpedo, created in Germany in mid-2005.

The Shkval missile can be used by standard surface- and underwater-based torpedo tubes. Effective firing range - 7 km, cruising range - up to 10 km. The minimum permissible firing range is 0.5 km. Underwater launch depth is up to 30 m. The warhead is high-explosive, weight is at least 210 kg.

P.S. Industrial recovery is good. What is in Dagestan is doubly good.

Blog of user sger AS.

And one more opinion. I'm not an expert, so I won't comment.

Is there a more dangerous torpedo than the Shkval?

At the turn of the 1960s-70s, experimental developments appeared in the Soviet Union on the topic of heavy torpedoes aimed at the wake of enemy ships.
Around the same time, when asked by a war correspondent: “How are you going to protect aircraft carriers from Russian super-torpedoes?” One of the senior representatives of the US Navy gave a simple and laconic answer: “We will put a cruiser in the wake of each aircraft carrier.”

Thus, the Yankees recognized the absolute vulnerability of aircraft carrier groups to Soviet torpedo weapons and chose, from two evils, the best option, in their opinion: to use their own cruiser as a “human shield.”

Actually, the US Navy didn’t have much to choose from - the 11-meter 65-76 “Kit” 650 mm ammunition, better known as the “Soviet fat torpedo,” left American sailors no choice. This is inevitable death. A dexterous and long “arm” that made it possible to hold the fleet of a “potential enemy” by the throat.

The Soviet Navy has prepared a “farewell surprise” for the enemy - two alternative endings to a naval battle: getting half a ton of TNT on board and falling into the bottomless depths of the sea, tumbling and choking in the cold water, or finding a quick death in a thermonuclear flame (half of the “long torpedoes” » was equipped with a self-propelled unit).

The phenomenon of torpedo weapons

Whenever turning to the topic of confrontation between the USSR Navy and the US Navy, the authors and discussion participants somehow forget that in addition to the existence of anti-ship cruise missiles, in naval warfare there is another specific weapon - mine-torpedo weapons (Combat Unit-3 according to the organization of the Russian Navy).

Modern torpedoes pose no less (and even greater) danger than supersonic anti-ship missiles - primarily due to their increased stealth and powerful warhead, 2-3 times the mass of warheads of anti-ship missiles. The torpedo is less dependent on weather conditions and can be used in conditions of strong waves and heavy gusts of wind. In addition, an attacking torpedo is much more difficult to destroy or “knock off course” by jamming - despite all efforts to counter torpedo weapons, designers regularly propose new guidance schemes that devalue all previous efforts to create “anti-torpedo” barriers.

Unlike damage caused by an anti-ship missile hit, where such problems as “fighting fires” and “fighting for survivability” are still relevant, an encounter with a torpedo poses a simple question to the unfortunate sailors: where are the life rafts and inflatable vests? - ships of the “destroyer” or “cruiser” class are simply broken in half by the explosion of conventional torpedoes.

A decommissioned Australian frigate was destroyed by a Mark.48 torpedo (warhead mass - 295 kg)

The reason for the terrible destructive effect of a torpedo is obvious - water is an incompressible medium, and all the energy of the explosion is directed into the body. Damage in the underwater part does not bode well for sailors and usually leads to the rapid destruction of the ship.
Finally, the torpedo is the main weapon of submarines, and this makes it a particularly dangerous means of naval combat.

Russian answer

During the Cold War, a very absurd and ambiguous situation developed at sea. The American Navy, thanks to carrier-based aircraft and sophisticated air defense systems, was able to create a naval air defense system that was exceptional in its strength, making American squadrons virtually invulnerable to air attack.

The Russians acted in the best traditions of Sun Tzu. The ancient Chinese treatise “The Art of War” says: go where they are least expected, attack where you are least prepared. Indeed, why “climb the pitchforks” of carrier-based fighters and modern anti-aircraft systems if you can strike from under water?

In this case, the AUG loses its main trump card - the submarines are completely indifferent to how many interceptors and early warning aircraft are on the decks of the Nimitz. And the use of torpedo weapons will allow you to avoid encounters with formidable air defense systems.

Multi-purpose nuclear powered vessel of project 671RTM(K)

The Yankees appreciated Russian humor and began frantically looking for means to prevent underwater attacks. They succeeded in something - by the beginning of the 1970s it became clear that a torpedo attack by an AUG using the available means was fraught with mortal risk. The Yankees organized a continuous anti-aircraft defense zone within a radius of 20 miles from the aircraft carrier order, where the main role was assigned to the under-the-keel sonars of the escort ships and the ASROC anti-submarine missile torpedoes. The detection range of the most modern American sonar AN/SQS-53 was up to 10 miles in active mode (line of sight); in passive mode up to 20-30 miles. The firing range of the ASROC complex did not exceed 9 kilometers.

The “dead sectors” under the bottoms of the ships were reliably covered by multi-purpose nuclear submarines, and somewhere far in the ocean, tens of miles from the moving squadron, anti-submarine helicopters and specialized Viking and Orion aircraft conducted a continuous search.

Sailors from the aircraft carrier USS George W. Bush release an AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed anti-torpedo decoy overboard

In addition, the Americans took decisive measures to counter the fired torpedoes: behind the stern of each ship the float of the towed noise trap AN/SLQ-15 Nixie “dangled”, which made the use of torpedoes with passive guidance on the noise of the propellers of enemy ships ineffective.

Analyzing the current situation, the Soviet sailors rightly judged that the chance of being detected by anti-submarine aircraft is relatively small - any AUG, convoy or detachment of warships is unlikely to be able to constantly keep more than 8-10 vehicles in the air. Too small to control tens of thousands of square kilometers of adjacent water space.

The main thing is not to be caught by the sonars of escort cruisers and nuclear submarines of the US Navy. In this case, it is necessary to fire torpedoes from a distance of at least 40...50 kilometers (≈20...30 nautical miles). There were no problems with detection and target designation - the roar of the propellers of large ship formations was clearly audible hundreds of kilometers away.

Heavy torpedo 65-76 "Kit". Length - 11.3 m. Diameter - 650 mm. Weight - 4.5 tons. Speed ​​- 50 knots. (sometimes up to 70 knots are indicated). Cruising range - 50 km at 50 knots or 100 km at 35 knots. The mass of the warhead is 557 kg. Guidance is carried out along the wake

Having decided on the choice of weapons, the sailors turned to industry representatives for help and were quite surprised by the response they received. It turned out that the Soviet military-industrial complex acted proactively and had been developing “long-range” torpedoes since 1958. Of course, special capabilities required special technical solutions - the dimensions of the super-torpedo went beyond the usual 533 mm torpedo tubes. At the same time, the achieved speed, firing range and mass of the warhead led the sailors to indescribable delight.

The most powerful underwater weapon ever created by man was in the hands of the USSR Navy.

65-76 "Whale"

...The 11-meter “arrow” rushes through the water column, scanning the space with a sonar for the presence of inhomogeneities and turbulences in the water environment. These turbulences are nothing more than a wake - water disturbances remaining behind the stern of a moving ship. One of the main unmasking factors, a “standing wave” is visible even many hours after the passage of large marine equipment.

The "fat torpedo" cannot be fooled by the AN/SLQ-25 Nixie or thrown off course using discardable traps - the hellish underwater tracker does not pay attention to noise and interference - it only reacts to the wake of the ship. In a few minutes, the soulless robot will bring 557 kilograms of TNT as a gift to American sailors.

The crews of American ships are in confusion: a terrible light flashed and shone on the sonar screens - a high-speed small-sized target. Until the last moment it remains unclear: who will get the “main prize”? The Americans have nothing to shoot a torpedo with - there are no weapons on board US Navy ships like our RBU-6000. It is useless to use universal artillery - traveling at a depth of 15 meters, a “thick torpedo” is difficult to detect on the surface. Small anti-submarine torpedoes Mk.46 are flying into the water - it’s too late! The reaction time is too long, the Mk.46 homing heads do not have time to lock on to the target.

Mk.46 torpedo shot

Here on the aircraft carrier they figure out what needs to be done - the command “Stop the car!” flies down. Fully back!”, but the 100,000-ton ship, by inertia, continues to stubbornly crawl forward, leaving a treacherous trail behind the stern.
There is a deafening roar of an explosion, and the escort cruiser Belknap disappears behind the stern of the aircraft carrier. On the left beam, new fireworks erupt - the second explosion tears the frigate Knox apart. On the aircraft carrier they realize with horror that they are next!

At this time, the next two torpedoes are rushing towards the doomed formation - the submarine, having reloaded the devices, sends the Yankees a new gift. In total, the Barracuda's ammunition loadout includes twelve super-ammunitions. One after another, the boat fires “thick torpedoes” from a distance of fifty kilometers, watching the Yankee ships rushing along the surface of the ocean. The boat itself is invulnerable to anti-aircraft defense systems of the aircraft carrier group - they are separated by 50 kilometers.

Mission accomplished!

The position of American sailors was complicated by the fact that “thick torpedoes” included in the ammunition load of 60 nuclear-powered ships of the USSR Navy.

The carriers were multi-purpose nuclear submarines of projects 671 RT and RTM(K), 945 and 971. Also, project 949 “loaves” were equipped with super-torpedoes (yes, dear reader, in addition to the missiles of the P-700 complex, the “loaf” could hit a “potential enemy” a dozen torpedoes 65-76 “Kit”). Each of the above submarines had two or four torpedo tubes of 650 mm caliber, ammunition varied from 8 to 12 “thick torpedoes” (of course, not counting conventional 533 mm caliber ammunition).

Location of 8 torpedo tubes in the bow of the multi-purpose nuclear submarine pr. 971 (code "Pike-B")

The “fat torpedo” also had a twin brother - torpedo 65-73 (as follows from the index, it was created several years earlier, in 1973). Full drive and fire!
Unlike the “intellectual” 65-76, the predecessor was an ordinary “Kuzka’s mother” for the destruction of everything living and inanimate in its path. 65-73 were generally indifferent to external interference - the torpedo traveled in a straight line towards the enemy, guided by data from the inertial system. Until the 20-kiloton warhead detonated at the calculated route point. Everyone who was within a radius of 1000 meters could safely return to Norfolk and dock for long-term repairs. Even if the ship did not sink, a nearby nuclear explosion would tear out the external radio-electronic equipment and antenna devices along with the “meat,” break the superstructure and cripple the launchers - one could forget about completing any mission.

In a word, the Pentagon had something to think about.

Killer torpedo

This is what the legendary 65-76 is called after the tragic events of August 2000. The official version says that the spontaneous explosion of a “thick torpedo” caused the death of the K-141 Kursk submarine. At first glance, the version is at least worthy of attention: the 65-76 torpedo is not a baby rattle at all. This is a dangerous weapon that requires special skills to handle.

Torpedo engine 65-76

One of the “weak points” of the torpedo was its propulsion unit - an impressive firing range was achieved using a hydrogen peroxide engine. And this means gigantic pressures, violently reacting components and the potential for the onset of an involuntary reaction of an explosive nature. As an argument, supporters of the “thick torpedo” version of the explosion cite the fact that all “civilized” countries of the world have abandoned hydrogen peroxide torpedoes. Sometimes from the lips of “democratically minded specialists” one hears such an absurd statement, supposedly a “poor scoop” created a torpedo using a hydrogen peroxide mixture only out of a desire to “save money” (of course, the “specialists” did not bother to look on the Internet and at least briefly familiarize themselves with the performance characteristics and the history of the appearance of “thick torpedoes”).

However, the majority of Marines, who are familiar with this torpedo system first-hand, question the official point of view. There are two reasons for this.

Without going into details of the strict instructions and regulations for storing, loading and firing “thick torpedoes,” naval experts note that the reliability of the system was very high (as high as the reliability of a modern combat torpedo can be). 65-76 had a dozen fuses and serious “fool protection” - it was necessary to perform some completely inadequate actions in order to activate the components of the torpedo’s fuel mixture.

Over a quarter of a century of operation of this system on 60 nuclear submarines of the USSR Navy, no difficulties or problems were noted with the operation of this weapon.

The second argument sounds no less serious - who and how determined that it was the “fat torpedo” that was responsible for the death of the boat? After all, the torpedo compartment of the Kursk was cut off and destroyed at the bottom by explosive charges. Why did you need to saw off the bow at all? I'm afraid we won't know the answer anytime soon.

As for the statement about the worldwide abandonment of hydrogen peroxide torpedoes, this is also a fallacy. Developed in 1984, the Swedish heavy torpedo Tr613, powered by a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ethanol, is still in service with the Swedish Navy and the Norwegian Navy. And no problems!

Forgotten Hero

In the same year, when the lost Kursk boat sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea, a major espionage scandal erupted in Russia involving the theft of state secrets - a certain US citizen Edward Pope tried to secretly acquire documentation for the Shkval underwater missile torpedo. This is how the Russian public learned about the existence of underwater weapons capable of reaching speeds of 200+ knots (370 km/h) underwater. The public liked the high-speed underwater system so much that any mention in the media of the Shkval missile torpedo evokes an equally flurry of admiring responses and joyful declarations of love for this “miracle weapon,” the analogs of which, of course, do not exist.

The high-speed rocket-torpedo "Shkval" is a cheap rattle compared to the "Soviet fat torpedo" 65-76. The Shkval's fame is undeserved - the torpedo is completely useless as a weapon, and its combat value tends to zero.

Shkval underwater missile. Interesting thing, but completely useless

Unlike the 65-76, which fires at 50 kilometers or more, the Shkval’s firing range does not exceed 7 km (the new modification is 13 km). Few, very few. In modern naval combat, reaching such a distance is an extremely difficult and risky task. The warhead of a rocket torpedo is almost 3 times lighter. But the main “catch” in this whole story is that “Shkval”, due to its high speed, is an unguided weapon, and the probability of it hitting even a weakly maneuvering target is close to 0%, especially considering that the “Shkval” attack is devoid of any stealth. An underwater missile on a combat course is easy to detect - and no matter how fast the Shkval is, by the time it covers 10 km, the ship will have time to change course and move a considerable distance away from the calculated aiming point. It is not difficult to imagine what will happen in this case to the submarine that fired Shkval - the distinct trail of the missile torpedo will clearly indicate the location of the submarine.

In a word, the miracle weapon “Shkval” is another fruit of journalistic fantasies and philistine imagination. At the same time, the Real Hero - the “Soviet fat torpedo”, the mere mention of which made NATO sailors’ knees tremble, was undeservedly slandered and buried under the weight of the past years.

In connection with the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster, a decision was made to remove the 65-76 Kit torpedo from service with the Russian Navy. A very dubious and unjustified decision, probably made not without prompting from our “Western partners.” Now no Shkval will replace the lost combat capabilities of submarines.

Tom Clancy's techno-thrillers and Hollywood films force readers and viewers to believe that submarine warfare tactics resemble a leisurely game of chess. However, these ideas are long outdated

Tactical and technical characteristics of the SHKVAL torpedo missile

Secret weapon

The fact is that since the late 1970s, the Russian submarine fleet has had weapons in comparison with which conventional torpedoes and conventional tactics are as archaic as bows and arrows compared to machine guns and machine guns.

The first mentions of this Russian weapon in the press were associated with the espionage scandal surrounding Edmund Pope: he allegedly tried to acquire blueprints for a secret super torpedo. Until that moment, the general public knew practically nothing about it (however, even now there is very little information) - even its name (“Squall”) meant little to the uninitiated.

Meanwhile, Shkval is not a new weapon. Development of a high-speed torpedo began in 1963, and a year later the first prototype launches took place on Lake Issyk-Kul. It took another 13 years to refine the design, and in 1977 the high-speed Shkval torpedo missile (VA-111) entered service with the USSR Navy. However, despite such a venerable age, the weapon still has no analogues, and many details remain secret.

Underwater "bolides"

The uniqueness of the super torpedo is its speed. However, the difference between Shkval and conventional torpedoes is enormous - the same as between a Formula 1 car and a Ford T: their maximum speed differs many times. The speed of conventional torpedoes is 60-70 knots, while Shkval can reach a speed of 200 knots (370 km/h, or 100 m/s) underwater - an absolute record for an underwater object.

It is not easy to develop such a speed in water: the resistance of the environment interferes - under water it is about 1000 times greater than in air. To accelerate and maintain such a high speed, a torpedo requires enormous thrust; it cannot be obtained from conventional engines and cannot be realized using propellers. Therefore, Shkval uses rocket boosters as propulsion. The starting booster is solid fuel, with a thrust of several tens of tons; it accelerates the torpedo to cruising speed in 4 seconds and then fires back. Next, the main engine starts working. It is also reactive, using hydro-reactive fuel containing aluminum, magnesium, lithium, and uses sea water as an oxidizer.

However, even jet engines are not able to constantly overcome the resistance of the aquatic environment at such enormous speeds. The highlight of “Shkval” is the supercavitation effect. In fact, the Shkval is more of a missile than a torpedo (sometimes it is called a “rocket-torpedo”), and it does not float, but flies in a gas bubble (cavity), which it creates itself.

How does supercavitation work?

In the bow of the Shkval missile-torpedo there is a special part - a cavitator. This is an elliptical-shaped flat thick plate with sharpened edges. The cavitator is slightly inclined to the torpedo axis (it is round in the frontal section) to create lift at the bow (at the stern, lift is created by the rudders). When a certain speed is reached (about 80 m/s) near the edge of the plate, cavitation reaches such intensity that a giant “bubble” is formed, enveloping the torpedo. In this case, the hydrodynamic resistance to movement is significantly reduced.

In fact, a cavitator alone is not enough to obtain a cavity of the required size. Therefore, the Shkval uses additional “supercharging”: immediately behind the cavitator in the bow there are holes - nozzles, through which the cavity is “inflated” from a separate gas generator. This makes it possible to enlarge the cavity and cover the entire body of the torpedo missile - from bow to stern.

but on the other hand

The revolutionary principles underlying the Shkval design also have their downside. One of them is the impossibility of feedback, and therefore the absence of a homing system: sonar radiation cannot “pierce” the walls of the gas bubble. Instead, the torpedo is programmed before launch: the target coordinates are entered into the control system. In this case, of course, the lead is taken into account, that is, the probable location of the target at the moment of being hit by a torpedo is calculated.

"Shkval" does not know how to turn. The torpedo moves strictly in a straight line to a pre-calculated meeting point with the target. The stabilization system constantly monitors the position of the torpedo and its course and makes adjustments using retractable rudders that barely touch the walls of the “bubble”, as well as by tilting the cavitator - the slightest deviation threatens not only loss of course, but also destruction of the cavity.

It is impossible to disguise the launch of Shkval: the torpedo makes a lot of noise, and gas bubbles float to the surface, forming a clearly visible trail. One of the developers who was present during the tests on Lake Issyk-Kul told us: “What is the launch of Shkval like? Imagine as if the god of the seas, Poseidon, took a whip in his hands: a whistle and a roar, and then very quickly the trail of the whip on the water surface runs straight away, like an arrow.”

Carrier Killer

Americans sometimes call Shkval (along with other types of weapons - Granit missiles, for example) an “aircraft carrier killer.” Indeed, one of the possible tasks of Shkval is to disable an aircraft carrier or even an entire aircraft carrier group (the torpedo’s warhead was supposed to be nuclear). Indeed, despite the lack of stealth and “straightforwardness”, it is almost impossible to escape or defend against the “Shkval” (and even more so from a salvo of two such torpedoes): in 100 seconds of an underwater “flight” to the target, a large ship or submarine will not have time to change anything course (or at least reduce the speed gained), nor take any countermeasures. As a result, the Shkval's hit error does not exceed 15-20 m, which is lethal with such a powerful warhead.
(Article taken from the Popular Mechanics website)

The creation of a missile torpedo begins with the SV decree No. 111-463 of 1960. The main designer of the missile-torpedo is Research Institute No. 24, today known as SNPP Region. A sketch of the project was prepared by 1963, at which time the project was approved for development. Design data of the new torpedo:
- range of use up to 20 kilometers;
- speed on the march is almost 200 knots (100 meters per second);
- unification for standard TA;

The principle of using "Shkval"
The application of this underwater missile is as follows: the carrier (ship, coastal launcher), when detecting an underwater or surface object, works out the characteristics of speed, distance, direction of movement, and then sends the received information to the autopilot of the missile-torpedo. What is noteworthy is that the underwater missile does not have a seeker; it simply carries out the program that the autopilot sets for it. As a result, the missile cannot be distracted from the target by various interferences and objects.

Testing a high-speed missile torpedo
Testing of the first samples of the new missile-torpedo began in 1964. Tests are taking place in the waters of Issyk-Kul. In 1966, testing of the Shkval began on the Black Sea, near Feodosia, from the diesel submarine S-65. Underwater missiles are constantly being improved. In 1972, another sample with the working designation M-4 could not pass the full test cycle due to problems in the design of the sample. The next model, which received the working designation M-5, successfully passes the full cycle of tests and, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1977, under the code VA-111, the missile-torpedo was accepted into service with the Navy.

Interesting
At the Pentagon at the end of the 70s, as a result of calculations, scientists proved that high speeds under water are technically impossible. Therefore, the United States military department treated incoming information about the development of a high-speed torpedo in the Soviet Union from various intelligence sources as planned disinformation. And the Soviet Union at this time was calmly completing tests of the missile-torpedo. Today, “Shkval” is recognized by all military experts as having no analogues in the world, and has been in service with the Soviet-Russian Navy for almost a quarter of a century.

Operating principle and design of the Shkval underwater missile
In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists and designers created a completely new type of weapon - high-speed cavitating underwater missiles. An innovation is used - the underwater movement of an object in the mode of developed separated flow. The meaning of this action is that an air bubble is created around the body of the object (steam-gas bubble) and, due to the drop in hydrodynamic resistance (water resistance) and the use of jet engines, the required underwater speed is achieved, which is several times higher than the speed of the fastest conventional torpedo.

The use of new technologies in the creation of a high-speed underwater missile became possible thanks to fundamental research by domestic scientists in the field of:
- movement of bodies during developed cavitation;
- interactions between the cavity and jets of different types;
- motion stability during cavitation.
Research on cavitation in the Soviet Union began to be actively studied in the 40-50s in one of the branches of TsAGI. Academician L. Sedov supervised these studies. G. Logvinovich also took an active part in the research, and later became a scientific supervisor in the development of the theory of applied solutions on issues of hydrodynamics and cavitation in relation to rockets using the principle of cavitation in motion. As a result of these works and research, Soviet designers and scientists found unique solutions for creating such high-speed underwater missiles.

To ensure high-speed underwater propulsion (about 200 knots), a highly efficient jet engine was also required. Work on creating such an engine began in the 1960s. They are held under the direction of M. Merkulov. E. Rakov completed the work in the 70s. In parallel with the creation of a unique engine, work is underway to create a unique fuel for it and the design of charges and production technologies for mass production. The propulsion system becomes a hydrojet ramjet engine. Hydroreacting fuel is used for operation. The impulse of this engine was three times higher than modern rocket engines of that time. It was achieved by using sea water as a working material and oxidizer, and hydroreacting metals were used as fuel. In addition, an autonomous control system was created for the high-speed underwater missile, which was created under the control of I. Safonov and had a variable structure. The automated control system uses an innovative method of controlling the underwater movement of a missile-torpedo; it is due to the presence of a cavity.

Further development of the missile-torpedo - increasing the speed of movement - becomes difficult due to significant hydrodynamic loads on the body of the product, and they cause vibration-type loads on the internal elements of the equipment and body.

The creation of the Shkval missile-torpedo required the designers to quickly master new technologies and materials, create unique hardware and equipment, create new capacities and production facilities, and unite various enterprises in many industries. The leadership of everything was carried out by Minister V. Bakhirev with his deputy D. Medvedev. The success of domestic scientists and designers in implementing the latest theories and extraordinary solutions in the world's first high-speed underwater missile was a tremendous achievement of the Soviet Union. This opened up the opportunity for Soviet-Russian science to successfully develop this area and create promising samples of the latest weapons with the highest characteristics of movement and destruction. High-speed cavitating-type underwater missiles have high combat effectiveness. It is achieved due to the enormous speed of movement, which ensures the shortest possible time for the missile to reach the target and deliver the warhead to it. The use of missile weapons underwater without a seeker makes it much more difficult for the enemy to counter this type of weapon, which makes it possible to use it in the Arctic region under the ice, i.e., it fully retains the positive aspects of conventional missiles. The Shkval missile-torpedoes, after being put into service, significantly increased the combat potential of the Navy of the Soviet Union, and then the Russian Federation. At one time, an export modification of the Shkval high-speed underwater missile, Shkval-E, was created. The export version was supplied to a number of friendly countries.

Additional information – Iranian “Shkval”
In 2006, Iran conducted exercises in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, which caused “outrage” in NATO military circles. And after testing a high-speed underwater missile, the Pentagon became seriously alarmed and was ready to use an “action of intimidation.” But soon information appears that the Iranian high-speed underwater missiles “Hoot” are a copy of the Soviet “Shkval”. In all characteristics and even in appearance, this is the Russian Shkval missile torpedo. Due to its short range, the missile is not classified as an offensive weapon. But its use in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf will be very effective for Iran due to the fairly small size of the straits. This weapon will completely block the exit from the Persian Gulf, and most of the oil from the region passes through it. According to some military experts, the Soviet-Russian Shkval missile entered Iran from China. China received Shkval from the Soviet Union back in the 90s.

Main characteristics:
- weight - 2.7 tons;
- caliber – 533.4 mm;
- length - 800 centimeters;
- range up to 13 kilometers;
- marching depth - 6 meters;
- possible launch depth up to 30 meters;
- warhead weight is not less than 210 kilograms;

P.S. Currently, the Shkval submarine missile is not used in the Russian Navy. The Shkval can be equipped with a warhead with a nuclear charge (the weight of the nuclear warhead is 150 kg), which puts the Shkval into the class of tactical nuclear weapons.