November 15, 2020

Russia's Giant Status-6 AUV/Torpedo Doctrine & Implications

Following Lee McCurtayne's comment bellow SubMatt's Status-6 article of August 28, 2020 and noting the article of November 13, 2020, I comment:

Once Russia has fully developed its giant Status-6 Nuclear tipped doomsday AUV/torpedo the other military superpower-thermonuclear powers,  US and China will do likewise. Thus sharply escalating the magnitude of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

However, the island chains of US allies, that inhibit Russian and Chinese access to the open (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) oceans, actually favor Russian and Chinese use of Status-6 type weapons. 

In contrast the geo-strategic advantage of unimpeded access to open ocean enjoyed by the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Japan, Australia and India makes for greater Tsunami danger from Status-6 weapons. 

Russia's key cities, St Petersburg, Moscow, Murmansk-Northern Fleet, Vladivostok-Pacific Fleet, Black Sea and Baltic fleets would not be directly vulnerable to such weapons. Nor would China's island chain screened Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. 

Status-6 remains a concept not fully tested, and due to its Radioactive Tsunami effect cannot be fully tested.

As Status-6 is a long term multi-month autonomous unmanned weapon - an AUV - Russia cannot have 24/7 control over it. There is no continuous line-of-sight satellite control or below water sonic countrol possible to the 1,000 meters deep diving Status-6 AUV .

During Status-6 long missions a very large, sophisticated, terrorist organisation or country (North Korea?) might Electronically take control of this weapon and explode it - say in the north Atlantic Ocean (?) where the US east coast and UK would be hit by 50m high(?) radioactive Tsunamis.

The Soviet's T-5 530mm nuclear torpedo (of less than 10kt) was designed to destroy a US carrier and close in escorts. While the giant T-15 and now Status-6 was/is of up to 100 MT explosive power designed to destroy a whole coast, like the US East Coast (from Miami, Kings Bay SSBN Base, Norfolk Carrier Base, Washington DC, New York city to Boston). 

The concept that a nuclear weapon is so terrible it would make war unthinkable has not worked since 1945. Conventional wars since 1945 have killed millions.

2 comments:

jbmoore said...

Yikes! If North Korea got hold of such tech, it would be nastier than their crude ballistic weapons. We live in interesting times!

Pete said...

Hi jbmoore [your Apr 17, 2021, 3:30:00 AM]

Yes those Russians are crazy. Once Status-6 100 Megaton warhead triggered Tsunamis are created they might cause waves destroying all coastal cities in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.

Times too interesting. And now China is on about invading Taiwan again.

Regards

Pete