Article Posted on : - Aug 03, 2010

The MU90 lightweight torpedo.

PARIS (BNS): The French Navy has received its 200th MU90 lightweight anti-submarine torpedo recently.

The Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) approved the delivery of the torpedo to the French Navy on July 22 as part of a contract notified by it in December 1997. The contract stipulated 300 MU90s for French Navy and 200 for the Italian Navy, the French MoD said in a statement.

The MU90, which joined the French Navy in 2008, has been designed to operate both from aircraft as well as from ships. The torpedoes are presently being used by the French Navy's Atlantic 2 maritime patrol aircraft, Lynx helicopters, F-70 and Horizon-class frigates.

The Navy plans to install the weapons on its NH90 helicopters and FREMM-class frigates when they enter service, the MoD said.

The third-generation MU90 has been designed for anti-submarine warfare. The weapon uses fire-and-forget principle and can counter any type of nuclear or conventional submarines. The MU90 can be deployed on a number of platforms, including vessels, fixed and rotary wing aircraft, submarines and missiles.