ARmy Rumour SErvice

Originally Posted by sunnoficarus

Nope, we've already covered this.
But it now has a proven capability to take out ballistic missiles and the most deadly of anti ship missile threats.

And cricket balls. Allegedly.

Actually come to think of it the easiest way to achieve a missile/torpedo hybrid without having to fiddle with getting the geometry and nosecone profile simultaneously right for air/aquatic travel is to have something like a UAV-torpedo hybrid.

The UAV carries a supercavitating torpedo towards the target using a fuel efficient turbofan, and drops the supercavitating torpedo into the water the moment it detects countermeasures being launched.

A UAV-torpedo hybrid is at a much higher TRL than a single, unified missile/torpedo hybrid. Actually we are already there - both armed UAVs and supercavitating torpedoes exist.

Mr Hitler beat you to the concept with the Henschel Hs294.

Originally Posted by chocolate_frog

A novel suggestion... but what about endurance? Will the ASM/Torp be capable of 200% distance in both air or sea? Or a 50/50 split? What happens to the ASM when it has to 'dive, dive, dive' further away than it has underwater endurance?

Be better of providing the ASM with some sort of crude counter-measure device against the incoming missile.

The airborne missile configuration is more efficient in terms of covering distance per kg of fuel burnt, especially if travelling subsonically where wave drag is not a concern.

Consider that the VA-111 Shkval supercavitating torpedo weighed 2700kg and has a range of ~10km. Meanwhile a AS-6 Kingfish missile has a mass of 4000kg but a range of 300-700km.

While the hybrid is airborne, it is vulnerable. If it has to dive beyond the range of its torpedo stage, it will fall short of the target.

Possible solutions to this are:
1) More energy dense propellants for the torpedo stage
2) Optimised nosecone and body profile of the supercavitating torpedo stage using CFD simulation
3) Rocket booster stages which drop off, like ground-space rockets
4) Nuclear thermal propulsion

Originally Posted by sunnoficarus

The Goalkeers? Bay Class perhaps? The cloggie ones have one apiece up front.

For sale, it would seem: Ministry of Defence | Defence For... | Business | DSA | Maritime Equipment Sales

Originally Posted by Gassing_Badgers

Wow, I see a future super-thread coming...

Super-cavitating torpedo-missiles, launched by Super-Harriers flown by RNR pilots off the back of P2000s in the Falklands against supertankers hijacked by Argentinian penguin terrorists...

it will still be shite unless their ejector seat has an SLR strapped to it!

super-cavitating torpedos were designed for a specific scenario; one that didn't include surface ships.

So, the French invent or develop something rather good. Next stop: Argentina.