an interesting read indeed... although, and taking into account my limited knowledge on the subject of hydrodynamics, and advanced undersea weaponry... i must question certain assertions made in the article above, regarding the capabilities of hi speed, super cavitating weapons...
if in fact the skval can be detected before it poses an imminent lethal threat to a us sub, as suggested by the article, the probability of out manuevering and successfully evading a homing weapon traveling at 200 kts would be very small...
in my opinion, the basic tenets of submerged combat still supercedes any other premises that may come into play... he who is detected first, dies first...
based on this, the ability of US subs to remain undetected, would, at this time, appear to be their primary defense, as well as offense, against a platform employing such weapons...
also...
1- there is currently only 1 Virginia class sub operational...
2- skvals could possibly be employed against surface targets, who would be at a disadvantage as far as detecting the weapon or its launch platform...
3- a mixed force of air and submerged weapons (with skvals as part of the deployment) targeting a surfaced asset could possibly overwhelm successful detection as well as evasion countermeasure attempts...
taking these considerations into account, not recognize these new generation of high speed submerged weapons as a real threat, is in my opinion, foolhardy at worst, and an unwarranted gamble at the least...
the deployment of this technology represents a credible threat and is a clear and present danger to US fleet assets, and their potential for destruction of same should not be ignored, nor played down...
hey... what has been the experience of aggressor and defending forces in scenarios where the skval has been used... in Deadly Waters multiplayer combat i mean
--Mike