As the cause of the death of the Kursk atomic-powered missile carrier, sources who consider themselves informed, or at least try to create an impression of themselves, cite the “Flurry” torpedo explosion in the bow torpedo compartment. Sometimes this hypothesis is supplemented by assumptions about an attack by the American submarine Memphis, which caused detonation.
In addition, the Chinese delegation, who was present at large-scale maneuvers in the Barents Sea, is credited with the intention to purchase either the underwater ultra-high-speed projectile itself, or even the documentation for its production. The Americans allegedly thwarted these plans with their decisive actions, and the PRC representatives left Russia, saying something in the spirit of "since this thing explodes like that, then we don’t need it."
In favor of this version, journalists cite the fact of the arrest of US citizen Pope, who was interested in some secret design developments of Russian scientists. Through the media, some parameters of the military-technical device that caused such a risky activity of American intelligence were announced.
The press flashed the name of the torpedo “Flurry”. The claim that this miraculous weapon has no analogues caused great enthusiasm among the patriots who recalled the “gunpowder in the powder flasks”, and the “democratic public” talked about the militarization of the country and a new round of the arms race, demonstrating the anti-American mood of the Russian leadership.
To understand how this miraculous weapon can be effective in the event of a hypothetical conflict in the naval theater of operations, it should be objectively assessed using available sources. Is the Squall torpedo really terrible? The characteristics published in the press do not really impress the professional military.
The most important thing that distinguishes the subject of espionage interest from other underwater shells is speed. She really is considerable, over two hundred knots, almost 400 km / h. On this, in fact, the list of unique parameters of the Flurry torpedo ends. The combat radius is from 7 to 13 km, and the mass of the warhead of 210 kg is clearly not enough to guarantee the sending of a serious naval target to the bottom.
To carry out the combat launch of the Shkval torpedo, its carrier must imperceptibly approach its victim a distance of a hundred cables, which is quite problematic at the current level of anti-submarine defense. Next is a shot. After a simple arithmetic calculation, you can get the time after which an explosion will occur if it hits, it’s two to three minutes. The question arises of how to avoid retaliation, because warships rarely go alone, and the hunt for a submarine that sank one of them will immediately begin. The Shkval torpedo rocket is noisy, cavitation phenomena in the layers of water in contact with the shell of the projectile further reduce stealth. The submarine, which was at such a short distance from the enemy squadron, and discovered by sonars, will certainly become a victim of a retaliatory strike.
Another issue concerns the controllability of the Flurry torpedo. It is practically zero; it cannot maneuver such a high-speed object under water.
It turns out that you can shoot only once, with a low probability of hitting and a degree of risk close to guaranteed suicide.
It is difficult to believe that it was the Flurry that caused the death of Kursk because after the disaster the operation of the “thick torpedoes” 65-76 “Kit” was suspended, which indirectly confirms the official version of the tragic events.
The question is, was it worth the American intelligence officer to hunt for the secrets of such a “miracle”? It is possible that there was a reason, some applied solutions can be used in the corresponding developments, although the overall value of the product is very doubtful.