The navy's two Dutch-made submarines have been using the MK48 torpedo, the most powerful class of torpedo in service with US submarines, for nearly a decade, according to defense sources.
The deployment of the MK48 Mod3 torpedo on the Sea Dragon submarines used to be a top secret in the navy. But its existence in Taiwan's navy has been widely suspected since the US announced two years ago it was willing to sell the MK48 Mod4 torpedo to Taiwan.
The announcement was considered the equivalent to confirming the use of an earlier version of the MK48 in Taiwan's navy since other foreign users of the MK48, such as Australia, Canada and Israel, all started with the Mod3 type.
The Mod4 is regarded as the second-best kind of MK48 torpedo in service with the US navy.
It is not known when the MK48 Mod4 torpedo is to be delivered to Taiwan. But before its delivery, the navy can still count on the Mod3 to counter the threat from the Chinese navy.
A defense source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the MK48 Mod3 torpedo is enough to sink a Lafayette or Chengkung-class frigate. "Only two Mod3s would be needed to destroy a Sovremenny-class destroyer of the Chinese navy," the source said. "The torpedo has such a large destructive power that neither the surface nor underwater vessels of the Chinese navy dare challenge the two Dutch-made Sea Dragon-class submarines of our navy.
"Our navy capitalized on the Chinese navy's fear of the Sea Dragon submarines to move very close to China's southeastern coastline during the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis," he said, referring to China's firing of missiles with dummy warheads into the shipping lanes near Taiwan before the presidential election of that year.
"Amphibious assault teams were then ready to raid the Chinese coastline using the submarines as the platform," the source said.
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