U.S. Navy budget documentation released last week is adding a series of new capabilities to the current AN/SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasures suite, including a new hard-kill capability via deck launchers, set to be deployed to over 168 different front-line ships in coming years.
The hard-kill weapon, known as the Mk58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), is expected to be deployed on Nimitz and Ford-class aircraft carriers initially, supplementing the Nixie’s soft-kill capability with a proven hard-kill capability that is currently deployed on attack submarines. The plan comes after years of development and experimentation with different sensors, weapons, and configurations.
Information pertaining to the Mk58 CRAW, Torpedo Warning System (TWS), and AN/SLQ-25 Nixie upgrades were unveiled in the U.S. Navy’s recently released FY2026 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) budgets. But concepts of an anti-torpedo CRAW date back nearly five years to the FY 2020 budget. The War Zone reported on first signs of an ATT CRAW variant in 2020, while ideas of a general counter-torpedo torpedo, in the form of the Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo (CAT), date back even further. The U.S. Navy shifted CAT sustainment in FY2024 when it merged the developed equipment and procedures into the CRAW program.
This time the Navy is confident that the ATT CRAW and associated hardware within Nixie are mature enough to deploy across the fleet.
“The FY 2026 increase includes support SLQ-25E countermeasures capability improvements, and support for development of an anti-torpedo torpedo defense hard kill capability… …integration and testing the Hard Kill Program will be developed through FY 2030. The US Navy plans to install this torpedo hard-kill countermeasure on over 165 different surface ships.”
U.S. Navy FY2026 Budget Documentation
According to the budget documents, the ‘finalized’ ATTDS (Anti-Torpedo Torpedo Defense System) will ultimately be composed of several new soft-kill, hard-kill, and early warning capabilities to provide enhanced detection, deception, and destruction capabilities to ships operating with the Nixie system. ATTDS has gone through multiple iterations and concepts over the past few years.
The primary sensor platform for fire control solutions is the SLQ-25E Nixie towed array, which will be upgraded with a kinematics-based target discrimination and fire control to provide targeting information to the hard-kill weapons. Upgrades will also improve its soft-kill deception capability with additional technology insertions.
The fire control capability added to Nixie is aided by the developments and technology fielded initially by TWS, which the fleet moved to incrementally integrate into the towed Nixie system in FY2025.
“NIXIE 25E Torpedo Hardkill Program will take the technologies developed in the Torpedo Warning System (TWS) and incorporate them into the tow system of the NIXIE 25E system. Development will also include improvements to the NIXIE winch to enable the integration of the TWS system, the design and development of a launching system that will launch the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) variant designed for torpedo defense.”
U.S. Navy FY2026 Budget Documentation
The primary hard-kill platform is the Mark 58 torpedo, commonly known as CRAW, a torpedo capable of launching from submarine decoy tubes. CRAW will be launched from a new deck launcher that will fire the Anti-Torpedo Torpedo (ATT) variant of the weapon, as well as several variants of the Acoustic Device Countermeasure (ADC) which are currently deployed on submarines and surface ships.
CRAW is an 85-inch long, 6.75-inch diameter and <220lb torpedo that can be multi-packed in 21-inch torpedo tubes or submarine VLS cells.
“Development will also include improvements to the NIXIE winch to enable the integration of the TWS system, the design and development of a launching system that will launch the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) variant designed for torpedo defense. The launcher will be designed to have the capability to launch ADC-MK2 Acoustic countermeasure devices along with the CRAW countermeasure.”
U.S. Navy FY2026 Budget Documentation
The Nixie hard-kill development and integration process has already begun, with ATT CRAW (officially Mk-58 torpedo) tests expected on surface ships by this time next year. As a program whole, the U.S. Navy wants incremental releases of the hardware and software as they become available, using Technology Insertions (TI) to add each new capability as a spiral as the fleet finalizes development through FY2030.
According to the U.S. Navy, funding put towards CRAW, approximately $24 million will develop ATT software for both the surface and sub-surface fleet, which will be delivered in Advanced Processor Build (APB) 2. APB-1 will enable anti-submarine warfare for Virginia-class SSNs. Development of APB-2 software is expected to continue through Q4 FY2026.
