Power of China’s secret Yu-10 torpedo hailed as video marks 70 years of submarine force
- State media shows stern of target ship lifted out of water by shock wave, accompanied by column of water nearly 100 metres high
A covert torpedo project could allow China’s conventional submarines to paralyse enemy aircraft carriers, according to a Chinese military publication.
In a rare display of Chinese submarine attack capabilities, the target ship – likely a retired Type 074 amphibious landing vessel – was hit by the unnamed torpedo. Its stern was lifted out of the water by the explosion shock wave, accompanied by a column of water nearly 100 metres (328 feet) high.
The video aired last month was part of a celebratory documentary for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy submarine force.
The torpedo was likely to have been a Chinese-developed Yu-10, which entered service in around 2015, although no specifications were officially released, according to Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Chinese military magazine.
“From the CCTV video, the power of this torpedo means even an aircraft carrier could hardly escape the fate of sinking, let alone destroyers or landing docks,” the magazine said in its July edition. “Even if not sunk, they would be essentially out of operation.”
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