Naval warfare is quietly moving into a new era—one that even many inside the military are just starting to understand. At the forefront of the change is a stunning, almost science fiction-esque piece of technology: the supercavitating torpedo. These are not your average underwater weapons. Rather than plowing through water slowly and steadily like old-style torpedoes, supercavitating designs develop a bubble of gas surrounding themselves, which enables them to “fly” through the sea at incredible velocities. With tensions rising between global powers, nations such as Russia, Iran, China, and America are in a mad scramble to create and fine-tune these revolutionary weapons.
Their fundamental science is surprisingly simple, but the stakes are huge. Water is extremely dense relative to air, so it’s a difficult medium in which to achieve speed. But by curving the nose of the torpedo in a particular manner and filling it with gas to create a bubble, it cuts the drag drastically. Within this bubble, or “cavity,” the torpedo travels with little resistance. That’s the way Russia’s VA-111 Shkval, for example, can travel at more than 200 knots—over 370 kilometers an hour—transferring minutes-long assaults into split-second attacks. The speed itself turns everything around about how navies strategize, respond, and engage.
Russia initially introduced supercavitating torpedoes. The Shkval, designed during the Cold War, had one objective: hit hard and hit quick. It wasn’t stealthy. It thundered off the tubes, shot in a straight trajectory, and hit before the adversary could even react. It couldn’t turn well, and its range wasn’t impressive, but that didn’t matter when you were moving that fast. Over the years, Russia has reportedly improved the weapon’s guidance and range, and some claims even suggest the existence of nuclear variants intended to serve as strategic deterrents rather than tactical tools.
Iran wasn’t far behind in seeing the value of the technology. It reverse-engineered the Shkval and produced its variant, the Hoot. Although it may not have all the finesse of Russian designs, the Hoot still moves at speeds that are almost impossible to intercept in the tight channels of the Persian Gulf. It is part of a wider Iranian strategy to combat more sophisticated naval forces with asymmetrical tactics—swift, unguessable attacks to counter the overwhelming firepower of enemies such as the U.S. Navy.
China has done things differently—slow, deliberate, and research-heavy. Chinese engineers have confronted some of the greatest challenges to making the torpedoes viable: guiding them, triggering the gas bubble at lower speeds, and incorporating smart systems. Their work on next-generation coatings and materials can potentially make torpedoes more flexible and steerable within a few years. One such field of research is a “special liquid membrane” that makes it easier for the torpedo to enter supercavitation mode. If successful, it can lead to super-submarines or hybrid missiles that descend underwater at incredibly high speeds.
Steering such torpedoes is not an easy job. When you’re moving through a gas bubble, conventional fins don’t work. If the torpedo touches the edge of its bubble, it could self-destruct. That’s why early versions were point-and-shoot only. But more recent designs are experimenting with new methods like vectored thrust, miniature thrusters at the nose, and even magnetic steering. There’s also discussion about using artificial intelligence to imbue these torpedoes with “smarts,” allowing them to trail and adjust to targets in real time, even as members of a swarm of underwater weapons acting in concert.
There is also development in the materials employed in constructing these torpedoes. They must be able to withstand the severest forces—pressure, velocity, and heat. Tungsten alloys and advanced polymers are some of the materials under test for how well they can stand up to those brutal conditions. Optimized nose designs, in-built gas generators, and new propulsion systems are being tried by engineers. Some models would soon be capable of striking targets up to 1,000 meters distant—ten times the range of previous supercavitating torpedoes.
Perhaps the most eye-raising innovation in this domain is the concept of cross-domain weapons—gadgets that operate in both the air and underwater. China has already demonstrated a missile that flies at supersonic velocities in the air before diving into the sea, becoming a supercavitating torpedo while approaching its target. This level of versatility is a defense system’s worst nightmare. The engineering hurdles are staggering—particularly about combustion and steering in various environments—but the ability to outmaneuver any defense is a strong attraction for military planners.
It’s all driving naval strategy into new waters. The window to respond to threats is narrowing. Legacy systems designed to track slow-moving torpedoes or enemy subs no longer suffice. For smaller nations, these torpedoes offer a way to threaten even the most advanced fleets. For larger powers, they’re a signal that dominance at sea can no longer be taken for granted. This is why we’re seeing parallel investments in defense tech like anti-torpedo systems, new sonar arrays, and electronic warfare tools that can jam or mislead incoming threats.
The competition doesn’t stop with torpedoes. The U.S. and others are developing underwater bullets, high-speed diver delivery systems, and unmanned underwater vehicles based on the same general principles. Germany has one of its own—the Barracuda, which brings agility into the speed mix. With every new model, the standard is pushed higher, and the oceans are that much more unpredictable.
But enormous questions still surround the future of these weapons. Can they be targeted precisely enough to make a difference on the battlefield? Can AI crack the split-second decision-making required for warfare beneath the waves? And can modern navies adapt quickly enough to defend against weapons they won’t even know are coming? The solutions to these questions will determine the next generation of naval power—one defined not by scale, but by technology, stealth, and speed.