Supercavitating underwater barrel
The super cavitating underwater barrel (formerly also Barracuda ) was a development project of the German armaments company Diehl BGT Defense in cooperation with the German Navy . The Superkavitations - Torpedo for short-range defense against underwater targets was introduced in 2005 as an experimental model to the public, but it did not come to production development and procurement.
This form of torpedo (underwater body) solves the problem of high frictional resistance under water by means of the supercavitation effect, in which from a speed of around 180 km / h under water a cavitation bubble filled with water vapor forms around the moving body. Only the tip is in contact with the water, which greatly reduces the frictional resistance. Such a torpedo can no longer be propelled by a propeller , but requires a rocket engine .
This torpedo has a swiveling head segment for steering. If the torpedo rises or falls, the water pressure acting on it also changes , and the cavitation bubble changes. As the water sinks, the water pressure increases and the bladder is compressed; if the torpedo rises, the pressure falls and the bladder expands. To keep the bladder intact when the water pressure rises, additional gas is pumped into the bladder.
According to the manufacturer, the torpedo reaches a speed of over 400 km / h under water and is steerable. He is not dependent on shooting down submarines , but can also dive into the water from the air and start his supercavitation journey there.
Such a torpedo would currently not be defensible and would therefore represent an effective close-range weapon against heavily protected and mobile sea targets . Due to its high maneuverability, the system should also be able to combat other unguided supercavitation torpedoes.
The system is comparable to the Soviet shkwal from 1977.
Web links
- Website of the manufacturing company Diehl BGT Defense ( Memento from August 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Слюсар В.И. Электроника в борьбе с терроризмом: защита гаваней. Часть 2. // Электроника: наука, технология, бизнес. - 2009. - № 6. - C. 90 - 95. [1]
- ↑ Gerhard Hegmann: Cross the Atlantic in under an hour? In: Welt.de of July 3, 2016, accessed on March 16, 2017.