A Russian cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea was attacked by a rare supercavitating torpedo.
The weapon is a cigar-shaped vessel that is self-propelled underwater from submarines, surface ships or aircraft to destroy other ships or submarines.
Also called “fish”, these ships operate via electric or thermal propulsion and use advanced guidance systems (such as wire guidance or acoustic guidance) to attack targets miles away.
The Russian cargo named “Ursa Major” was attacked in December 2024, suffering multiple explosions.
As reported CNNthe torpedo is possessed by NATO members Russia and Iran.
On December 23, the ship sank before sinking approximately 600 miles off the coast of Spain. As a result, two crew members were killed; 14 others were rescued.
Experts who studied a 50 by 50 centimeter hole in the ship’s hull suspected that the hole could have come from a Barracuda-class supercavitating torpedo.
Such a weapon uses air bubbles to minimize drag underwater and operate at extreme speed.
The ship abruptly reduced its speed while passing through Spanish waters on December 22, although the crew did not report anything. About 24 hours later, survivors reported an explosion near the engine room.
Upon boarding the ship, rescuers found that the engine room doors were securely closed. Later, more explosions occurred, resulting in the sinking of the ship.
As reported by the Spanish National Seismic Network, four seismic events near the ship were recorded. These events were similar to patterns consistent with underwater explosive devices.
It is also reported that the ship was heading to North Korea to transport two underwater nuclear reactors.
After the sinking, the American WC-135R “nuclear sniffer” aircraft flew over the wreck site twice. A week later, another Russian ship described by Western officials as an intelligence-linked vessel also visited the area.
