Good news, Ordnance Science and Technology 2024 No. 8 "The United States "Typhon" Medium-Range Missile Deployment in the Philippines is newly listed, and friends who like it can pay attention to the WeChat public account Ordnance Science and Technology Express or scan the QR code in the article to buy!
On May 21, 2020, the official website of Northrop Grumman Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Northrop Grumman) announced that it had successfully manufactured and tested the first ultralight torpedo (VLWT) for the U.S. Navy. This torpedo is a new piece of equipment developed by the Norge Corporation in response to the "US Navy's Light Rapid Attack Weapon Program." In the words of Alan Little, vice president of the company's Underwater Systems Division, the torpedo "increases underwater lethality and enables innovative combat concepts across multiple combat platforms," and its successful development and design undoubtedly meets "the advanced underwater warfare capabilities that the United States needs more often than ever."
The VLWT ultralight torpedo was smaller in size, with a diameter of only 171 mm
"Mini" torpedoes
The design and production of torpedoes by Norge began in the 80s of the last century, and has remained at the forefront of torpedo design and production since the acquisition of Westinghouse has accumulated the relevant technical reserves. At present, the MK48 heavy torpedo and MK50 light torpedo used by the US military are both developed and produced by Nuoger.
The "ultra-light torpedo" is a new type of torpedo, whose diameter and length are smaller than the 324 mm light anti-submarine torpedoes such as MK50 and MK54 commonly used by the US military, and it is a more compact torpedo, comparable to a "mini" torpedo. According to information published by the media, the "ultralight torpedo" has a diameter of 171 mm, a length of about 2.16 meters and a weight of about 100 kg. In contrast, the US MK50 torpedo has a diameter of 324 mm, a total length of 2.94 meters, and a total weight of 364 kg. Due to the lighter weight of the "ultralight torpedo", its maneuverability under water is also better than that of other heavier torpedoes, which brings significant advantages to the "ultralight torpedo" to change its navigation course in time underwater and track the submarine.
It is reported that the "ultralight torpedo" is a chemical thermodynamic torpedo, using a thermodynamic closed-cycle system developed by the American MK50 torpedo, a closed-circuit thermodynamic circulation system with lithium metal as the incendiary agent, sulfur hexafluoride as the oxidant, and water vapor as the engine working medium. This system, also known as the "Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System" (SCEPS), is a two-circuit closed-cycle power system that does not discharge any gases to the outside world, and its power and speed are not affected by back pressure, and can operate at large depths, providing torpedoes with a very important deep-water performance advantage.
The anti-torpedo torpedo launcher previously equipped by the United States on aircraft carriers, the "ultralight torpedo", was developed on the basis of this project
This thermodynamic system does not discharge substances to the outside world, so there is no track, no exhaust noise, and no pollution, which greatly improves the concealment of the torpedo; The fuel energy density is high, the torpedo has a high speed and long range, and it can accelerate to half the maximum speed in 12 seconds; In addition, the system structure is simpler than other thermodynamic systems, with fewer control components and high reliability.
Universal underwater warfare tools of the future
Compared to heavy torpedoes, which have a deeper draft, light torpedoes are needed to effectively deal with enemy conventional diesel-electric submarines operating in shallow seas. Therefore, the design goal of light torpedoes is to strike conventional submarines operating in shallow waters with a depth of about 50-100 meters. As a result, light torpedoes have become an important piece of equipment in shallow sea anti-submarine warfare.
The acoustic environment in shallow water is more complex due to the differences between shallow sea and deep sea in many marine environmental factors such as salt concentration, water temperature, ocean currents, and seabed topography. In order to cope with submarines with less echo and more advanced underwater acoustic countermeasure equipment and a more complex acoustic environment, various naval powers have upgraded and improved light torpedoes, and have continuously introduced a new generation of light anti-submarine torpedoes.
Ordnance Science and Technology Magazine WeChat Mall, long press or scan the QR code to enter the store to buy
The reason why the United States is developing "ultra-light torpedoes" on the basis of light anti-submarine torpedoes is that we have to mention the "US Navy Light Rapid Attack Weapon Program." The program currently provides $49.5 million in the U.S. fiscal year 2021 budget to support related weapons development. In addition to the torpedo project, the program also envisages an upgrade of the payload control system of the American submarine with a standardized anti-torpedo defense system, trying to balance the submarine "spear and shield". The U.S. Navy intends to integrate the program's series of research results into the Virginia-class attack nuclear submarines by fiscal year 2023 at the latest, allowing them to easily deal with smaller, unmanned underwater targets. Therefore, this new ultralight torpedo from Northrop Grumman will first be deployed on US nuclear submarines as part of submarine anti-torpedo systems.
The American aircraft carrier "Nimitz" launches ultra-light anti-torpedo torpedoes
It can be seen that the "original intention" of the program was developed for torpedo defense, that is, as an "anti-torpedo torpedo". In addition, the US Navy's Littoral Fighters of the Freedom and Independence classes cannot deploy conventional anti-submarine weapons, and more lightweight anti-submarine weapon systems are needed. Therefore, this plan evolved into an "ultralight torpedo".
Moreover, before that, the US Navy once deployed another ultra-light torpedo, called the "anti-torpedo torpedo", which was deployed on 5 aircraft carriers of the "Nimitz" class as part of the "hard" anti-torpedo defense system (ATTDS) of high-value surface warships. However, the ATTDS program ran into a number of technical difficulties, such as mistaking friendly ships for potential torpedo threats, which could pose a significant risk of accidental damage, and the U.S. Navy announced in February 2019 that it had removed the systems from all carriers.
It can be said that for more than a decade, the US Navy has been working hard to develop a new torpedo system called "ordinary ultralight torpedo" in the past, and its core purpose is to develop a universal "ultralight torpedo" that can replace the use of a variety of warheads, guidance systems, and optimize other systems for certain special tasks, that is, to develop a universal underwater combat tool in the future.
One "thunder" is multi-purpose
Since it is a common underwater combat tool in the future, the US military has always hoped that the "ultra-light torpedo" can be used as a "mine" for multiple purposes, so it is committed to developing a variety of derivative models, the most famous of which is the "anti-torpedo torpedo". As a "hard kill" interceptor to intercept enemy torpedoes, the "ultralight torpedo" can be destroyed by impact or explosion to commit torpedoes. This is because the "ultralight torpedo" is compact enough to fit into the anti-torpedo decoy launchers currently used by US submarines, so it can be easily equipped with submarines as an anti-torpedo measure.
The UAV helicopter demonstrates the use of an "ultralight torpedo" against underwater targets
Although the US military's "ultra-light torpedo" program has been suspended, it does not mean that the development of "ultra-light torpedo" has stopped. After all, the torpedo defense system is a kind of "rigid need" for submarines or surface ships, and the emergence of "ultra-light torpedoes" can act as anti-torpedo interceptors to a certain extent, so as to realize the multi-purpose of one "mine".
However, it is not easy to solve such a "rigid need". By far the biggest problem with anti-torpedo interception is that it is not possible to effectively intercept at a sufficiently short distance, that is, the system needs to identify and classify the threat, and then intercept it in a very short time. As an interceptor, the "ultralight torpedo" has a less powerful warhead and must accurately hit the target in order to effectively intercept it. At present, some self-guided torpedoes have adopted the tactic of throwing off anti-torpedo interceptors, and at the end of their attacks, they can maneuver irregularly in the direction of the target, which increases the difficulty of tracking and aiming "ultra-light torpedoes".
Equipping unmanned offshore platforms
But on the other hand, the ultra-small size and mass of the "ultralight torpedo" also provide the possibility for it to be equipped with a variety of platforms and greatly increase the bomb load. In fact, from the very beginning, the US military planned to equip "ultralight torpedoes" with unmanned helicopters and underwater unmanned underwater vehicles. During the annual naval technical exercise in 2016, Norge demonstrated the use of an unmanned helicopter to strike underwater targets with an "ultralight torpedo". In February 2019, the U.S. Navy also purchased four Oka unmanned underwater vehicles to test the use of ultralight torpedoes on anti-submarine or anti-surface combat missions. If the test is successful, the US Navy's unmanned helicopters, unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned ships will be equipped with "ultra-light torpedoes" in the future.
In the future, VLWT ultralight torpedoes will be mainly equipped with unmanned maritime combat platforms of the US Navy. For example, the "Sea Hunter" unmanned boat that performs submarine hunting and anti-submarine operations
In addition to conventional platforms such as UAVs and unmanned submarines, "ultra-light torpedoes" can also be deployed on future smart mines and turn into autonomous attack mines, which can make such mines smaller and difficult to find, and can be quickly deployed to form a larger minefield, and a mine can be equipped with multiple "ultra-light torpedoes" to hit multiple targets. At the moment, the U.S. Navy has not made a final formal decision on equipping submarines or any platforms with light torpedoes, but it is certainly still working in that direction. A multi-purpose "mini" small torpedo like the "ultralight torpedo" can change the concept of submarine operations in the Navy and even change the rules of operations for American submarines, and this revolutionary capability is likely to become a reality in the coming years.