It is well past the time when humans need to grow up.

And yeah, I agree with you it’s be a BAD idea! I think the human race needs to grow up a hell of a lot before we can be trusted with something like that. Hell… I don’t think we can be trusted with Space flight either. But that genie is out of the bottle. *shrug*

The Russians developed a really nasty warhead (sodium hydride originally, but that may have changed) to target US Subs under ice packs (actually, they don’t target the sub, they target the ice pack the sub usually hides under). Was very effective and destructive. The EU and Russia also have new shaped-charge warheads that can effectively penetrate a double-hull, and the UK has the Spearfish, designed to hunt down the fast Alfa sub’s… Lot of work being done all over on Torp’s. 🙂

We are just such a mature species, eh? 😉

With Russian torpedoes, they are only safe empty. As soon as they are fueled, they are an accident waiting to happen. Even their standard torpedoes are fast and long range, but dangerous without their warheads in place. All it would have taken is for a torpedo to shift from a sudden move, or because it wasn’t secured. If they were loading one, and lost control of it – curtains. As for leaving them on the ocean bed, the H₂O₂ is corrosive, and trying to bring them to the surface would probably cause more explosions.

The SuperCav Subs is a bad idea from the start. We have screwed up everything else, we should try leaving the ocean alone. If a standard aircraft isn’t fast enough, set up a teleconference. There is no reason to keep moving “meat” around. It’s not like a conference in person is going to be any more successful with half the people involved in the wrong time zone, eating unfamiliar food, and trying to sleep in a strange bed in the wrong weather. That’s what the ‘Net is all about.

Actually, I watched that until it became obvious that the producers were typical Hollywood morons. *shrug* Scheider was right.

The Germans are reported to have their own design known as ‘Barracuda’.

I came acros a blog with some info with links:
Those 345 MPH Supercavitating Torpedoes: Did You Know?

Jerry Pournelle blogged about the sinking of the Kursk sub:
The Kursk and the Future of Naval Warfare

Here’s an interesting scientific article on the principle (with pics) 😉
Codename “Shkval-Torpedo”: Super-cavitation is a loop-hole in physics

Oh… And I should mention that for an encore after our super-quiet Collins sub… we here in Aus are developing the next gen supersonic sub. 😉 LOL

Australian research-visionaries have in the meantime already designed whole fleets of supersonic submarines, so called “Supercav-Subs,” on the computer that could possibly in the distant future accomplish journey distances such as London to New York faster than Concord. Eng. Vincent Kotwicki, who also presents the spectacular constructions and futuristic ideas of his team in great detail on the Internet (www.deepangel.com): “One day this technique will open up a whole new dimension to mankind. We could construct a network of underwater highways that connect the continents, invisible corridors, which could be kept free from sea dwellers with the help of supersonic signals.” – Plans that not only animal rights activists hope never to be put into practice…

Heh… 😉

‘What a World'(tm) 😀

The Russians still use hydrogen peroxide in their torpedoes and the damn stuff is toxic and unstable. The evidence seems to indicate that one of the torpedoes blew, and that was the end. You don’t need a warhead when you use that as the propellant. They did/do some crazy stuff that we stopped after WWII. I wouldn’t be surprised if they still used lead/acid batteries in their diesel subs.

The Iranians claim to have developed their own version, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they merely fixed the Russian torpedo. The Revolutionary Guards are just as crazy as the Russians when it comes to taking chances.

I’ve also heard that China and Japan have helped Russia with that super-cavitating torpedo they developed long ago. It apparently almost works now (and was possibly responsible for that Russian sub sinking last year, they were testing the new torp). *shrug*

Russia seems to have more *friends* than the USA right now. Obama is going to have to do a massive amount of work. Good luck.