What is torpedo? Rare weapon sank Russian cargo ship carrying nuclear parts

A Russian cargo vessel 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 aircrafts to destroy other ships or submarines.

Also referred to as “fish,” these vessels operate via electric or thermal propulsion and utilize advanced guidance systems (such as wire guidance or acoustic homing) to attack targets miles away.

The Russian cargo named “Ursa Major” was attacked in December 2024, suffering multiple explosions.

As reported by CNN, the torpedo is possessed by NATO members, Russia, and Iran.

On December 23, the vessel sank before going down roughly 600 miles off Spain’s coast. Resultantly, 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 resulted from a supercavitating torpedo of the Barracuda class. 

Such a weapon uses air bubbles to minimize drag underwater and operate at extreme speed.

The vessel abruptly reduced its speed while passing through Spanish waters on December 22, although nothing was reported by the crew. Around 24 hours later, the survivors reported an explosion near the engine room. 

Upon boarding the ship, rescuers found that the engine room doors had been securely shut. Later, further explosions occurred, culminating in the sinking of the ship.

As reported by Spain’s 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 vessel was heading to North Korea to transport two submarine nuclear reactors.

After the sinking incident, the US WC-135R “nuclear sniffer” aircraft flew over the wreck site twice. A week later, another Russian vessel described by Western officials as an intelligence-linked ship also visited the area.