Recently, several foreign media outlets, including the Hong Kong-based *South China Morning Post* and India’s *EurAsian Times*, analyzed a video broadcast by China’s CCTV. They concluded that the Chinese Navy’s Type 039B submarine used the new generation Yu-10 torpedo to sink a target ship during exercises. The target ship sunk was a decommissioned Type 074 amphibious landing ship. The video shows the ship’s stern surfacing with the shockwave when hit by the torpedo, and an explosion creating a water column nearly 100 meters high, showcasing the formidable power of the Yu-10.
This footage is part of a documentary celebrating the 70th anniversary of China’s submarine forces. As usual, the specific specifications of the Yu-10 were not disclosed. However, *Ordnance Technology* magazine speculates that this torpedo is likely the Yu-10 torpedo, developed by China and commissioned in 2015. The magazine further comments that the power of this torpedo, as shown in the CCTV footage, suggests that even aircraft carriers would struggle to escape being sunk, let alone destroyers and dock landing ships with lesser displacement. Even if not sunk, they would likely lose their combat capability.
Furthermore, based on the underwater navigation status of the torpedo, the Yu-10 is equipped with advanced “wake homing technology.” This means it can calibrate its course based on the wake generated by the target ship, making it akin to an underwater missile, greatly enhancing its strike accuracy. According to previously disclosed foreign media information, besides wake detection technology, the Yu-10 can also use long-range fiber-optic guidance, adjusting its course based on submarine instructions. The combination of these guidance methods makes it very difficult for a target to escape once locked by the Yu-10. Additionally, the Yu-10 features a shaped charge design, making it effective against well-protected large ships, capable of penetrating aircraft carrier hulls and damaging key internal equipment, causing them to sink or lose combat capability.
Despite gradually declining in prominence after World War II, torpedoes, with their excellent concealment and strong anti-interference capabilities, remain powerful naval weapons. Their ability to attack the underwater parts of target ships, causing leaks and sinking, makes them highly destructive. Compared to anti-ship missiles, several of which might not be able to sink an aircraft carrier, the enduring status of torpedoes as classic weapons is hard to shake. Especially when paired with submarines, they can launch covert attacks on targets, with numerous ships historically sunk by torpedoes.
The Yu-10 was developed by China to match the American MK-48 Mod 7 torpedo. It is estimated to have a range of 50 kilometers and a speed exceeding 50 knots. This torpedo is widely equipped on Chinese Navy submarines, and the launch platform in the video is likely the Type 093B submarine, which has already seen the production of 17 units. Compared to surface ships, submarines are difficult to detect. In tense moments, they can be deployed in key sea areas to effectively intercept enemy ships.
Usually, they can be deployed in several critical straits of the First Island Chain, and in wartime, they can advance into the Western Pacific to deny the US Navy access to the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The rare unveiling of the Yu-10 launch footage by CCTV is likely a strong signal to the United States.