Mark 48 being loaded onto a U.S. Navy submarine. (Photo : US Navy)
The U.S. Navy is ramping-up production of the newest version of its huge Mark 48 (Mk-48) heavyweight submarine torpedo, only one of which can sink any Chinese submarine or surface warship.
The problem facing the navy is it has only 1,046 of these torpedoes, mostly the original Mk-48 or derivatives of this model. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which builds the Mk-48, is scheduled to deliver 250 new torpedoes in 2017.
All these brand new Mk-48s will be the latest version called the Mk-48 Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS).
CBASS is optimized for both deep and littoral waters and has advanced counter-countermeasure capabilities. The version is more resistant to Chinese or Russian countermeasures.
The original Mk-48 is 5.8 meters long and packs a 290 kg high explosive warhead. This torpedo, which arms all U.S. Navy submarines, is a huge, wire-guided torpedo weighing 1,600 kilograms.
It has the unique ability to circle around and again attack a surface warship it failed to hit on its first try.
The torpedo is nicknamed "the keel buster" because its warhead is designed to explode beneath the keel of an enemy ship, breaking the ship's back and sinking it more quickly.
The Mk-48 arms U.S. Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and Seawolf-, Los Angeles-, and Virginia-class attack submarines. It's also used by Canadian, Australian and Dutch submarines. It will soon arm submarines of the Republic of China Navy.
The decision to sell the Mk-48 to Taiwan follows a U.S. Navy decision to re-start production of the Mk-48.
The Mk-48 was originally fielded in the early 1970s. Its lethality stems from its PBXN-103 high explosive warhead that can be delivered to surface targets 32,000 meters away, and to enemy submarines at a depth of 760 meters.
It has both active and passive guidance systems that can lock onto targets 3,700 meters distant.
The Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan said it will receive the improved Advanced Capability (ADCAP) variant of the Mk-48. ADCAP is designed to sink deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.
These powerful torpedoes should be enough to give China serious thoughts about launching a naval invasion of Taiwan across the 180 kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait separating it from Taiwan.
