Japan MSDF Mistakenly Launches Torpedo Decoy

May 25, 2018

Tokyo- A submarine of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force mistakenly launched a torpedo decoy off the Kii Peninsula in western Japan early Thursday.

According to the Maritime Staff Office, no damage has been confirmed so far.

The MSDF is searching for the decoy, while investigating the cause.

The decoy was launched mistakenly by the Sekiryu submarine based in the MSDF's Kure base in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, during a drill.

The cylindrical device with a diameter of some 15 centimeters is about 1.6 meters long and weighs some 26 kilograms.

The decoy is used for having an incoming torpedo misidentify the device as a submarine with an acoustic signature. Jiji Press