Improved guidance for US torpedoes

The US Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin an up to $425 million contract to provide guidance and control systems for the Mk 48 Mod 7 torpedo for its submarine fleet, the company announced on 25 May.

The contract is part of a five-year effort to increase the navy's inventory of its Mk 48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedoes. Lockheed Martin will provide its guidance and control systems to improve their tracking and targeting capabilities and increase their bandwidth. This will aim to improve the counter-measure capabilities and effectiveness of the Mk 48. The acoustic array is being provided by Channel Technologies Group.

The company will provide fully integrated guidance and control system sections over several years it said. The contract includes potential production orders for over 250 torpedoes to be delivered in the next five years to the navy. These torpedoes are used by all of the navy's operational submarine classes for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

The new guidance and control systems have the same section as the current heavyweight torpedoes that the company is upgrading as part of the Mk 48 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) contract that was awarded in 2011. Lockheed Martin presently delivers at least 20 Mod 7 CBASS kits every month, and is set to deliver all the kits within the contract schedule. It is also providing intermediate torpedo maintenance for fleet training.

Tom Jarbeau, MK 48 program director, Lockheed Martin, said: 'The latest guidance and control technologies for Mk 48 torpedo are thanks in part to Lockheed Martin's $10 million investment in manufacturing efficiencies, facilities, and laboratories to ensure navies can pace the threats in littoral and deep sea environments.

'We are building on our five decades of experience in undersea systems and our strong record of providing complex electronic systems to our customers on schedule and on budget.'