The MK-48 series heavy torpedoes are powerful and are the main attack force of the US submarine force. The picture shows the US Navy's Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine "USS Vermont" (SSN-792) loading Mk-48 heavy-duty torpedoes at an Australian base. (Picture taken from Australian Submarine Agency LinkedIn)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] my country’s purchase of the latest MK-48 Mod6 AT heavy torpedo from the United States has been adjusted several times, which has attracted great attention from the Legislative Yuan and the Chinese people. The Ministry of National Defense recently pointed out in a project description submitted to the Legislative Yuan that all four mines will be delivered before the end of this year in accordance with the delivery date in the offer letter. The Navy has already placed them under control and will complete the acceptance procedures within the year and directly incorporate them into next year's annual training and use.
This batch of torpedoes (heavy training torpedoes) that are about to arrive in Taiwan can be said to be a blessing in disguise for the "Hai Kun warship" that is about to be handed over to the Chinese army and the "Stegosaurus-class submarines" currently in service. According to internal reports from the military, next year’s Hanguang exercise or Haiqiang exercise, as well as the precision ammunition shooting project, whether it is the Haikun ship or the Stegosaurus-class submarine with rich actual combat experience, are expected to be included in the torpedo launch subjects of this new heavy-duty torpedo.
Since the cost of an explosive war mine is as high as hundreds of millions of dollars (millions of dollars), it is impossible to consume live ammunition every time in daily drills. Therefore, brightly painted mines that are not loaded with explosives have become the core practical and practical drill tools for submarine officers and soldiers.
These heavy-duty torpedoes are assembled and manufactured by Raytheon and SAIC in the United States. Regardless of whether they are mine-operated or war mines, their core high-tech components such as propellers, control cabins, and active and passive sonar are all from the same highly standardized U.S. military production line. The only difference in production between the two is that the front end of the war mine is assembled with a combat warhead filled with high explosives, while the front end of the mine control is modified with an equal-weight electronic instrument cabin manufactured by Raytheon to record navigation data and drain balance. This precise homologous production design ensures fidelity during training.
The Ministry of National Defense recently pointed out in a project description submitted to the Legislative Yuan that all four mines will be delivered before the end of this year in accordance with the delivery date in the offer letter. The Navy has already placed them under control and will complete the acceptance procedures within the year. The orange projectile in the picture is the mine. (Picture: taken from the US Navy website)
As for only shooting mines that don't explode, won't it affect the training effect? In fact, the operating mines and war mines of modern advanced torpedoes are exactly the same except that one is equipped with explosives at the front end and the other is equipped with heavy and high-tech instruments. Whether it is the propulsion power, the fuel system with a top speed of more than 55 knots, or the most critical active and passive sonar seekers and control wires, the two are exactly the same. In other words, mine control can cover almost all the tricky moves of war mine, including speed change, depth change and anti-interference. More importantly, the mine operation is equipped with a data recorder inside, which can be salvaged and reused by the navy after being fired.
As for when will the 24 war mines (live combat ammunition) arrive? The Ministry of National Defense stated in the report that according to the schedule of the offer letter, the war mines will be delivered to Taiwan one after another from 2016 to 2017. Although due to environmental factors such as the restart of international production lines, the completion of the entire case has been slightly postponed from the originally planned 2028 to 2030, the main 24 war mines will be handed over before the end of 2017. The Navy emphasized that the task force is currently continuously and closely monitoring the US handling situation, and the outside world does not need to worry too much about the "ships but no mines" combat power window period.
With the four mines arriving in Taiwan "first in advance", the Navy expects to complete the reception at the end of this year and then start having submarine officers and soldiers conduct dynamic evaluations of underwater mine launches next year. This will not only allow the Haikun ship to verify the core wire guidance technology and launch tube functions, but also significantly improve my country's underwater asymmetric warfare defense capabilities. As U.S. military equipment is gradually put in place, the replacement of combat power and tactical exercises of new and old submarines of the Navy will usher in the most critical live-fire verification peak next year.
