North Korea Test-Fires New High-Speed Precision-Guided Torpedo... "AI Incorporated"

North Korea said on October 17 that it had conducted a live-fire test of the new high-speed precision-guided torpedo weapons system, "Jam-2.0."

The Korean Central News Agency reported that day that "the Academy of National Defense Science, the Missile General Bureau, and the Torpedo Weapons Research Bureau conducted an underwater test launch of the new torpedo weapons system on October 15 to verify the results of its technical upgrades."

Yonhap News Agency

The agency described the test as "part of the normal activities of defense science research institutions to advance the technology of weapons systems." It said senior officials from the defense science research sector who observed the test were confident it was "a major achievement heralding significant changes in the Navy's practical development."

The agency reported that artificial intelligence (AI) technology had been incorporated into the new torpedo's target-search and guidance functions. It added that the test confirmed the performance of a rocket propulsion system and key technologies for improving propulsion efficiency, which had been perfected through 180 tests over the past five years.

Experts said the torpedo may be a "supercavitating torpedo," given North Korea's claim that it is equipped with a rocket propulsion system and the use of the term "high-speed" in its name.

A supercavitating torpedo creates a layer of air around its nose to overcome water resistance and travel faster than a conventional torpedo.

Because it is difficult to combine high speed with guidance and control technologies that can accurately detect and hit targets underwater, other countries that have developed supercavitating torpedoes are also believed to have faced technical limitations in deploying them operationally.

The test launch appears to have been attended only by working-level staff from defense science research institutions, without North Korean leader Kim Jong Un present.

The test launch was not reported in Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party newspaper read by North Korean residents, and was covered only by the Korean Central News Agency, an outlet aimed at foreign audiences.

The agency did not disclose the torpedo's specific specifications or release any related photos. It also did not specify the platform from which the underwater test launch was conducted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.