Navy Sub Force Boss: Future Torpedoes May Range Out to 100 Miles

[Bruno Anthony]

The Seawolf class were going to be the rest of the fleet. The initial buy was supposed to be 30, with an enhanced version to follow for a 60-ish boat class, by the time it had been cut down to single digits the tube diameter was locked in and there was no benefit to refitting them down. A new heavy torpedo design was penciled in for the late 90s to take advantage of the change, production of which would be ramped up over the lifetime of the new class.

Very interesting. Never knew about an enhanced Seawolf or new heavy torp. Do you have references?
I don't doubt you, I am just interested in the subject.

[Moose]

The Seawolf class were going to be the rest of the fleet. The initial buy was supposed to be 30, with an enhanced version to follow for a 60-ish boat class, by the time it had been cut down to single digits the tube diameter was locked in and there was no benefit to refitting them down. A new heavy torpedo design was penciled in for the late 90s to take advantage of the change, production of which would be ramped up over the lifetime of the new class.

Very interesting. Never knew about an enhanced Seawolf or new heavy torp. Do you have references?
I don't doubt you, I am just interested in the subject.

I don't have much in the way of links for you, the Seawolf and heavy torp plan predate powerpoint and I don't know how many of the old reports can be found online. The 60-ish boat plan died as soon as it became clear the class was too expensive to replace the 688s, but even up until the launch of the Centurion program the Navy was looking at more affordable/multimission evolutions of the Seawolf hull for further boats. The wider torp never got very far, I think references to it can be found in the Norman Polmar books up until the mid-90s but mainly as an item on the wishlist not an active program.

[VH]

Sounds like the Long Lance concept updated

[bobbymike]

http://news.usni.org/2015/05/14/comsubfor-connor-submarine-force-could-become-the-new-a2ad-threat

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/game-changers-for-submarine-warfare.html

[pathology_doc]

If you build something in to ensure the torpedo does not actually reverse course and kill the launch vessel, or commit fratricide against other torpedoes (i.e. program it to specifically ignore the sound of its own motor), a 100 mile torpedo would be the perfect thing for interdicting convoys. Two or three submarines spitting out a dozen or so of these things each from both sides and ahead could do some really severe damage, even if fired semi-blind into the general vicinity.


I think we will soon be entering an era of active, hard-kill countermeasures against torpedoes. We will have no choice, especially since even major warships can no longer be relied upon to survive multiple hits, not in the current era of under-the-keel back-breakers and essentially unarmoured warships.

[bobbymike]

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/everything-you-need-know-about-the-us-navys-new-lethal-16413

[bobbymike]

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/20180612-Aerojet.html

ONR Awards Aerojet Rocketdyne Contract to Develop Prototype Torpedo Propulsion System

AeroJetPhotoSACRAMENTO, Calif. — Aerojet Rocketdyne has been awarded a $2.6 million Phase I contract by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop a prototype torpedo propulsion system under the agency’s Torpedo Advanced Propulsion System (TAPS) program, the company announced in a June 12 release.

The primary goal of the program is to improve the engine efficiency of the U.S. Navy’s Mk48 heavyweight torpedo.

“Aerojet Rocketdyne began developing torpedo propulsion systems in the early 1950s,” said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s CEO and president. “We will carry this legacy forward as we develop the technologies needed to enhance the capability of the Mk48, which is used by the U.S. Navy on all classes of submarines as their most capable anti-submarine and anti-surface weapon.”