FRANCE

Heavyweight torpedoes for submarines

The DGA has ordered 100 new generation heavyweight torpedoes from the French DCNS shipyard group, under a contract valued at E420 million (US$665.28 million), to arm the French Navy’s nuclear submarines from 2015.

The new torpedo will replace the F17 Mod 2 weapon that currently arms all French submarines. It will be based on the Finmeccanica subsidiary Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) Black Shark, with DCNS as the prime contractor. DCNS and WASS will supply complete torpedo subassemblies in line with their respective areas of expertise. DCNS will subcontract the manufacture of the acoustic head to Thales Underwater Systems (TUS).

The program will be led and managed by the Saint-Tropez plant with contributions from other DCNS centres. The contract will represent some 50% of the Saint-Tropez plant’s workload.

The new heavyweight torpedo is 6m long, has a range of more than 50km and a speed in excess of 50kts. It features electric propulsion and wire guidance, combined with autonomous final-phase homing and counter-countermeasures capabilities. It is designed to knock out hostile surface combatants and submarines. © DAPSS  S.A., 2008, Switzerland