Will China’s Fujian be first carrier to carry anti-torpedo system to beat Western subs?
Defence magazine points to lightweight torpedo launcher in place of the 12-tube depth charge launchers on earlier Chinese carriers
Commissioned in November, the Fujian is the PLA Navy’s third aircraft carrier and its first to be fully designed domestically.
This is believed to be an ATT system, which would be the first of its kind in active service on an aircraft carrier globally, not only keeping pace with modern naval warfare but also standing as a response to the “severe threat” to China’s large surface combatants posed by the US Navy’s Seawolf-class and SSN(X) submarines, according to an analysis in the June edition of Defence Review magazine.
“Torpedoes present a real and significant threat to PLA Navy aircraft carriers that must not be underestimated,” the article said, explaining that heavy wire-guided torpedoes launched from attack submarines could cause more damage to a warship than anti-ship missiles.
China demonstrated an earlier ATT system in 2016. The new ATT system on the Fujian should “reach a world-class level in detection accuracy, damage reliability and system integration”, the article said. It noted that the US Navy’s anti-torpedo torpedo defence system (ATTDS) project in the 2010s had failed and its new hard-kill programme was still under way.