Photo: Royal Navy
Royal Navy’s Mod-1 Spearfish Torpedo has successfully passed deep water trials and is now officially ready for the front line.
Royal Navy’s upgraded torpedo, the Mod-1 version of the current Spearfish, has recently undergone complex deep water trials, as the next step after having achieved initial operating capability. The tests were conducted during a 3-day period, at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre (AUTEC), on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
This particular location combines the specific features of a remarkable natural setting with advanced technology, in order to create the perfect conditions for sub-surface military testing. The special ranges off Andros Island are set on the Tongue of the Ocean, a flat-bottomed trench carved out of coral reef. This is where submarine and torpedo performance can be measured, with the help of sensors and hydrophones.
During the trials, five torpedo firings were conducted by HMS Audacious, the 4th Royal Navy Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine, with excellent results. After obtaining initial capability, it was important to test the weapon in complex environments, in order to get more data on its performance. One of the main objectives was to observe whether the torpedo would perform well at maximum operating depth and when it was being challenged through countermeasures.
The Mod-1 torpedo is meant to replace Spearfish, a heavyweight weapon that has been successfully fulfilling its duty for almost 30 years, providing protection against enemy destroyers, frigates and submarines. In 2010, it was decided that it’s time for an upgrade and that is when Mod-1’s development began.
BAE Systems in Portsmouth, UK, developed what the Royal Navy is calling “the world’s most advanced torpedo” over the course of 6 years. The improved weapon boasts a new warhead and a safer fuel system. It also provides a higher degree of accuracy and lethality, due to its fiber-optic guidance link with the submarine and advanced electronic command system.
The Mod-1 Spearfish torpedo is planned to enter service with Royal Navy submarines by 2025.
This particular location combines the specific features of a remarkable natural setting with advanced technology, in order to create the perfect conditions for sub-surface military testing. The special ranges off Andros Island are set on the Tongue of the Ocean, a flat-bottomed trench carved out of coral reef. This is where submarine and torpedo performance can be measured, with the help of sensors and hydrophones.
During the trials, five torpedo firings were conducted by HMS Audacious, the 4th Royal Navy Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine, with excellent results. After obtaining initial capability, it was important to test the weapon in complex environments, in order to get more data on its performance. One of the main objectives was to observe whether the torpedo would perform well at maximum operating depth and when it was being challenged through countermeasures.
The Mod-1 torpedo is meant to replace Spearfish, a heavyweight weapon that has been successfully fulfilling its duty for almost 30 years, providing protection against enemy destroyers, frigates and submarines. In 2010, it was decided that it’s time for an upgrade and that is when Mod-1’s development began.
BAE Systems in Portsmouth, UK, developed what the Royal Navy is calling “the world’s most advanced torpedo” over the course of 6 years. The improved weapon boasts a new warhead and a safer fuel system. It also provides a higher degree of accuracy and lethality, due to its fiber-optic guidance link with the submarine and advanced electronic command system.
The Mod-1 Spearfish torpedo is planned to enter service with Royal Navy submarines by 2025.
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