China’s Fujian aircraft carrier may have become the world’s first carrier with an operational hard-kill anti-torpedo torpedo (ATT) system, according to Chinese defense publications, giving Beijing a torpedo defense capability that no U.S. carrier currently holds.
The South China Morning Post, citing an analysis in the June edition of Chinese defense publication Defense Review, reported July 3 that the Fujian carries six-tube 324mm rotating launchers positioned beneath the flight deck on both sides of the ship.
Chinese analysts say the configuration is designed for anti-torpedo interception, replacing the 12-tube depth-charge systems fitted to China’s earlier carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong. China has not officially confirmed the ATT system is operational, and no independently verified test results have been released.
Hard-kill anti-torpedo systems physically intercept and destroy incoming torpedoes during their terminal approach, distinguishing them from soft-kill countermeasures such as acoustic decoys and jammers, which attempt to deflect or confuse a weapon rather than destroy it.
Chinese researchers said the system builds on a 2016 ATT demonstrator, “reaches a world-class level in detection accuracy, damage reliability, and system integration,” and uses a rocket booster and pump-jet propulsion to reach 50 to 60 knots within three seconds.
The capability gap facing U.S. carriers gives the report its strategic weight. The Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo is the U.S. Navy’s primary submarine-launched anti-surface weapon. Its previous hard-kill program, the Anti-Torpedo Torpedo Defense System (ATTDS), was cancelled after failing performance requirements.
Its successor, the Mk 58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), paired with the upgraded AN/SLQ-25E Nixie soft-kill suite, is not expected for broad deployment until around 2030. No U.S. surface warship currently carries an operational hard-kill torpedo interceptor.
China Integrates World’s First Hard-Kill Anti-Torpedo System Onto Supercarrier to Intercept Submarine Attacks
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s newest aircraft carrier the Fujian has been widely reported by local sources to be the world’s…https://t.co/mY127k05ZB pic.twitter.com/fPMcF1vOSx
— Military Watch Magazine (@MilitaryWatchM) July 6, 2026
The Fujian was commissioned November 5, 2025, as China’s first carrier with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), and is based at Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island, approximately 217 miles from the disputed Paracel Islands.
Western analysts have noted that active underwater interception remains technically demanding given acoustic distortion, thermal layers, and short reaction times, and these claims have not been independently verified.
