During the struggle for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, the neglected scorpion hook: the Italian "Black Scorpion" miniature torpedo. In this era of fierce competition for the oceans, countries are stepping up research and development of new anti-submarine weapons. Italy was born a miniature torpedo called the "Black Scorpion", which, despite its petite size, was not to be underestimated. Will the existence of such a small body and big energy bring some threats to the United States, the hegemon of the sea?
As the old saying goes, "the battlefield is the best stage for testing weapons". During the Cold War in the last century, in order to suppress each other's nuclear submarines and fleets, the two major maritime hegemons of the United States and the Soviet Union, they developed a series of heavy anti-submarine torpedoes. However, the U.S. Navy soon discovered a problem in actual combat - when submarines attack enemy ships, 80% of the cases occur at close ranges within 5 kilometers, and long-range torpedoes are rarely used.
Submarines are invisible "swordsmen" at sea, and their whereabouts are exposed when they are too far away, so they usually stick to the "trouser belt" of the enemy ship and unexpectedly kill the killer. To this end, the US Navy developed an MK11 short torpedo with a range of only 46 km, which, combined with the characteristics of high maneuverability, completely solved the problem of anti-submarine warfare.
Even anti-submarine rockets, although affordable, are far behind by the MK46, an advanced short torpedo, due to their low strike efficiency and intelligence. This prompted the Italian company Bald Underwater Systems to set out to develop a miniature torpedo that was "smarter" than a rocket and "cheaper" than a torpedo.
Eventually, the A200 miniature torpedo, which was born in 1992, was born. With a caliber of 124 mm, a total length of less than 1 meter, and a weight of only 11 kilograms, this "small body" can inflict a devastating blow on conventional submarines with a 2.5-kilogram shaped charge warhead and an advanced sonar system. Although the A200 has a range of only 700 meters, it has since launched an extended range version with a range of 2,000 meters.
In order to meet the needs of air-launching, the A200 series is also derived from parachute shock absorption and rocket booster models. Unfortunately, this torpedo, which performed well on paper, did not achieve the desired sales. At that time, there was not much left of the socialist camp, and NATO was the dominant power at sea, so the supply of such highly targeted weapons was also in short supply.
Time flies, and 20 years later, the situation has changed dramatically. The white-headed company again picked up and in 2014 launched a completely new "Black Scorpion" miniature torpedo. Although the appearance of the "Black Scorpion" is somewhat similar to that of the A200 series, its internal strength has been greatly improved. First of all, the endurance has been greatly increased, and the battery is the same as that of the Black Shark heavy torpedo of the company Baltault.
Secondly, the "Black Scorpion" strengthens the sonar capability, which can actively emit sound waves to stimulate the submarine's maneuvering, thereby reducing concealment. In this way, as expected, 4-8 "black scorpions" can be caught in one go. The "Black Scorpion" can not only deal with small ships, but also large warships. Best of all, it's small enough to be mounted on a variety of platforms, from helicopters to unmanned boats, destroyers to special forces submarines.
If one day the "Black Scorpion" is really widely equipped, then it will definitely become the most "cunning" hunter at sea, so that any submarine has nowhere to hide. But then again, how powerful this is still needs to be tested in future wars and military exercises. Then wait and see!
The "Black Scorpion" miniature torpedo is an innovative attempt by the Italian company Bald in the field of anti-submarine weapons. Compared with the large torpedo rocket, it is small, inexpensive, flexible, but also has the advantage of strong striking power, which can be described as a trendy "small body and big energy" weapon.
Although there is still a lack of actual combat tests at this stage, there is reason to believe that if the "black scorpion" is really widely used, it will certainly become a "hidden weapon" of the navies of various countries, and it will certainly be quite a set of methods for dealing with those "underwater assassins" who swim on the bottom of the sea. Of course, weapons are only weapons after all, and peaceful coexistence is the greatest hope of mankind.