Article Posted on : - Jun 15, 2017

A Saab photo.

NEW DELHI (BNS): A new torpedo system is being developed for the Royal Swedish Navy that are both easy to control and highly adaptable.

The new lightweight torpedo system is a successor to Torpedo 45, a lightweight torpedo system introduced by Saab in 1995, a Company statement said.

“The new version will have a greater range of speeds, meaning it can go both faster and slower, depending on the situation it’s in,” said Thomas Ljungqvist, Sales Director for Weapons and Sensors at Saab’s Business Unit Underwater Systems.

“It will also have a completely new propulsion system. While Torpedo 45 is propeller driven, the new torpedo will use a pump jet system, making it quieter, more powerful and more efficient in terms of battery use.”

Users of the system will also benefit from major advances to the homing and navigational systems which will be updated in line with today’s sophisticated computational systems. “And the system is fully adaptable as new technology evolves in future.”

The modifications will make the torpedo even more suitable to the rapidly changing global defence environment, where there are even greater requirements on weapons to be precise and efficient, he said.

Like the current Torpedo 45, the new system will employ a wire-control system. This will allow operators to target enemy assets with precision and safely abort attacks when required, for example if a civilian or other friendly vessel is at any risk, he said.

“You can direct the torpedo to stop or select another target.” If the wire breaks, the torpedo will either go for the designated target and kill it or in peace time, abort the mission and go into safe mode.”

“Modern torpedoes need a homing system that can differentiate between counter measures and the true target and to have endurance to continue the attack until the countermeasures are gone or the homing system has identified the target.”

The new torpedo system, being developed in the Baltic Sea, is due to be delivered to the Swedish Royal Navy in 2022.