Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

DSEI Japan 2023
  • News
  • Event News
    • SNA 2023
    • Euronaval 2022
    • Indo Pacific 2022
    • Sea Air Space 2022
    • DIMDEX 2022
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»First Surface Ship and Submarine Firings for Saab Lightweight Torpedo

First Surface Ship and Submarine Firings for Saab Lightweight Torpedo

Saab and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and Swedish Armed Forces have conducted the first tests with the Saab Lightweight Torpedo (SLWT) from a Visby-class corvette and Gotland-class submarine.

Xavier Vavasseur 09 Jun 2020

The tests are the first of its kind for the new torpedo and were undertaken during February and March 2020 at sea ranges outside Karlskrona, on Sweden’s east coast in the Baltic Sea. The tests were conducted from a Gotland-class submarine and from a Visby-class corvette. The purpose of the firings was to verify that the torpedo can be safely launched from the vessels, which also included verification of the integration on the vessels as well as SLWT’s target seeker.

“The Saab Lightweight Torpedo will provide the Swedish and Finnish Navy with the ability to deter and if necessary destroy hostile underwater and surface threats. Having completed these tests successfully is a major milestone in this joint project,”


Görgen Johansson, Head of Saab’s business area Dynamics
First Surface Ship and Submarine Firings for Saab Lightweight Torpedo Torped 47
FMV picture

The development of the torpedo commenced with an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in 2016. In January 2018, the Finnish Navy placed an order for the SLWT, as a part of the Squadron 2000 Mid-Life Upgrade Programme. The Finnish Navy will operate the system on-board the upgraded Hamina-class vessels as well as the new Pohjanmaa-class corvettes of the Squadron 2020 Programme.  The first firing of the prototype torpedo took place the same year. The Torped 47 (its official name in the Swedish Navy) will be operational in late 2022 aboard the visby-class only shortly followed by the initial operational capability (IOC) aboard the Gotland-class submarine.

The SLWT is unique in the way that it is adapted for difficult littoral underwater conditions such as those found in the Baltic Sea while also being designed for operations in deeper seas. With its state-of-the-art design, it incorporates a fully digital homing system, which offers both fire-and-forget and wire-guided operation to pursue the target. It is a flexible system that can be launched from multiple platforms, including surface ships, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and submarines.

Saab Lightweight Torpedo Torped 47
Screen capture from FMV/Saab video

“This is the fifth generation of torpedo we developed for the swedish navy. It is designed to perate in the challenging envirnment of the baltic sea”


Anne-Marie Vösu, Vice President and head of Business Unit Underwater Systems, Saab

The new torpedo bring a wider speed range (lower low speed, higher high speed) and better range and better maneuvrability compared to Torpedo 45


Lieutenant Commander (LtCdr) Anders Hecker, Commanding Officer of HSwMS Helsingborg

This new torpedo on the modified Gotland class submarines, the new coming Blekinge class submarines and the Visby class Corvettes will mean a tremendous amount for the ASW ability in the Swedish defense for many years to come.


Rear Adm. Odd Werin, Head of Naval Equipment at FMV

About Torpedo 47 / Saab Lightweight Torpedo / SLWT

Saab’s Lightweight Torpedo System (SLWT) is under the spotlight at this year’s IMDEX Asia maritime exhibition. The SLWT is an advanced lightweight torpedo system being developed by Saab in cooperation with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF).
Saab’s SLWT 1:3 model at IMDEX Asia 2019 exhibition

The SLWT differs from existing ASW systems by its capability to adapt to difficult hydro-acoustic conditions, thanks to its suitable frequency range, advanced signal processing, fully digital sonar, as well as an evolutionary HF range. Sailors will also be able to control the weapon during the engagement, due to availability of galvanic wire and evolutionary optical fiber link. 

Moreover, the SLWT sensor system, that will localize and identify submarines, is tailor made for the environment in the Baltic Sea. Depending on the local environment the torpedo must have the ability to alter speed, navigate with high accuracy and communicate efficiently with the firing platform. The future torpedo will have a weight of approx. 340 kg, a range of 20 km and an endurance of around 1h. Pumpjet propulsion will be provided by LiFePO4 battery 

The future SLWT is being developed as a « modular » weapon, which means that the user only has one module to change between the warhead and exercise version, otherwise it is the same torpedo. After the exercise shot, the exercise module inflates its balloon so that you can recover the torpedo from the surface.

The modularity also brings future proofing: Saab will bring an “anti torpedo torpedo” capability as a future feature to the SLWT.

Saab Swedish Navy Torped 47 Torpedo 2020-06-09
Tags Saab Swedish Navy Torped 47 Torpedo
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

Related Articles

Swedish Navy receives Saab’s Torpedo 47 LWT

Swedish Navy receives Saab’s Torpedo 47 LWT

Naval News Staff 21 Dec 2022
On December 20, 2022, the Swedish FMV announced the delivery of Saab's Torpedo 47 LWT system to the Swedish Navy.
Saab to Modernize Swedish Mine Countermeasures Vessels

Saab to Modernize Swedish Mine Countermeasures Vessels

Naval News Staff 21 Dec 2022
Saab has signed an agreement with FMV on the life extension of two Koster-class mine countermeasures vessels.
South Korea’s Tiger Shark Torpedo to reach FOC by year-end

South Korea’s Tiger Shark Torpedo to reach FOC by year-end

Juho Lee 08 Dec 2022
According to South Korea's DAPA, the Tiger Shark torpedo produced by LIG Nex1 for the ROK Navy will become fully operational by the end of this year.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved