5 Top Secret Weapons Projects That Accidentally Leaked Information
All three military powers, Russia, the United States and China, have leaked information about secret weapons before they were officially introduced.
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South Korean K2 Black Panther tank. Photo:Sputnik |
The world's military powers keep tight secrets about new-generation weapons such as aircraft, warships or tanks. However, no country is completely immune to accidentally leaking important details to the public or its own opponents, according toSputnik.
K2 Black Panther Tank
In 2007, the South Korean army launched the K-2 main battle tank with a mass of 55 tons and a unit price of up to 8.5 million USD. The K-2 development project was led byThe Agency for Defense Development and Hyndai Rotem jointly deployed and tested it at highly secret locations.
However, as early as 2000, many photos of this tank model with its turret covered with canvas were released to the press.Military experts quickly calculated the tank's dimensions and mass with very little error, and also discovered that its main weapon was the Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun. Meanwhile, the K-2's electronic systems, communications equipment, and active defense remained hidden.
Sea Shadow test vessel
The IX-529 Sea Shadow is a stealth test ship jointly developed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Lockheed Martin for the US Navy in the mid-1980s.
Despite high-security measures such as moving the production site to the sea and testing only at night, the US media discovered the Sea Shado, described as an unidentified floating object, years before the ship was officially launched in 1993. However, the US government at that time fooled the press by claiming that it was just a mining ship of thebillionaire Howard Hughes.
Electromagnetic cannon mounted on Chinese warship
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China tested the electromagnetic cannon in February 2018. Photo:Twitter |
In early February 2018, a photo of a mysterious heavy artillery piece mounted on a Chinese warship went viral on social media. A US intelligence report last week said it was a new type of electromagnetic railgun, expected to be officially deployed by Beijing before 2025.
China’s electromagnetic railgun model can reach a range of 200 km and a muzzle velocity of 9,300 km/h, allowing it to destroy any target within 90 seconds. Each Chinese electromagnetic railgun shell is estimated to cost between 25,000 and 50,000 USD. This is considered a solution to help warships accurately attack targets at a relatively low cost, compared to cruise missiles that cost millions of USD.
J-20 stealth fighter
China's fifth-generation stealth fighter J-20 was officially unveiled in January 2011.However, in 2009, images of this fighter jet flooded the Internet, afterA Beijing official announced that the project has entered the final stage.
According to one theory, the Chinese military deliberately leaked the photos to show off the new project.The public has the opportunity to observe clearlymore than Chinese fighter jet models at the 2016 air show.
Nuclear torpedoPoseidon
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Documents about the Status 6 project leaked by Russian television in November 2015. Photo: RT |
The Status-6 nuclear torpedo project was leaked in November 2015 when Russian television accidentally aired footage showing detailed blueprints of the weapon while covering a defense meeting attended by President Vladimir Putin.
Initially, US intelligence believed this was just a propaganda campaign by the Russian military, but later confirmed that Moscow had officially tested it.Status-6 and see hereis a "major strategic threat" to seaports, coastal military bases and aircraft carrier strike groups.
At the end of March, the Russian military officially named this torpedo modelPoseidon after more than 10 days of voting from the people.
