""Your breath hitches, your throat dries up and you know - the responsibility is on you. You look at your team, understanding that you have authorized them precisely for this moment." This is how Lt. Col. R., deputy commander of Fleet 7, describes the seconds leading up to the torpedo launch, in a breathtaking exercise in the depths of the sea.
To better understand what is behind the exercise, which took place in recent months, and of which documentation is now being published for the first time - imagine the following scene: the submarine is deep in the middle of the sea, with a hostile target floating in the water.
In one moment, the torpedo, launched at her, cruises, hits beneath her, creates a vacuum and completely dismantles her in the depths of the sea.
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A huge explosion was heard above the water, unmissable.
""The torpedo is the submarine's power multiplier," explains Lt. Col. R., "The target can be beyond the horizon and invisible to the eye, and we can still fire. This provides us with a huge operational advantage, because it allows us to operate quietly, at long range - and where necessary.".
As the Chief of Staff describes it, the exercise is a complete "concert" by the Navy: throughout its length, a closed firing zone was defined in the middle of the sea, controlled and secured by the branch's vessels that prevent the intrusion of foreign vessels. At the same time - from land, from the MIC and from the submarine's combat information center - they watched the exercise, gave instructions and managed the event from "above.".
""Starting from the acquisition of the target, to the selection of the type of torpedo. The force's effort in this exercise is tremendous, and required months of thinking," explains Lt. Col. R., "We design the exercise from scratch, with the submarine department in charge of the planning deciding on the professional achievement we would like to test, whether it is a sailing ship, quiet or slow.".
But even before practicing "wet" firing, the designated team undergoes a comprehensive series of training. "We practice every extreme scenario and response case, both in the tactical simulator in Haifa, and also in firing torpedoes without a warhead," he explains. "At the same time, we have established 'red teams' whose purpose is to examine potential obstacles and provide a response to them.".
""The safety of the crew is our top priority," emphasizes Lt. Col. R., "It is imperative to consider the environment, the drift of the target in relation to the air and the sea current, and many other parameters that we need to be precise about when constructing the experiment.".
After months of anticipation, planning and preliminary training, the success of the exercise, in the form of an explosion that lasted only about a second, echoed throughout the sea. "We hear the power and see the huge cloud of smoke and the target sinking. It's an amazing experience," says Lt. Col. R., "If the impact of the explosive could not be hidden - the submarines' activity would continue to remain under the radar, hidden and secret, deep underwater.".
