Lightweight Torpedo Development

Abstract

Funding decreases from FY21 to FY22 in Project Units 1412, 2234, and 3418 for the following: (1)PU 1412: Decrease due to completing OT and closing out the remaining tasking under the developmental contract in FY21. FY22 will focus on requirements updates by the USN for a Common HAAWC design that will be compatible with the MK 54 MOD 2 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo (ALWT). (2)PU 2234: Decrease due to planned completion of Operational Testing (OT) phases and declaring Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the MK 54 MOD 1 LWT Increment 1. (3)PU 3418: Decrease due to the completion of MK 54 MOD 2 Advanced Anti-Submarine LWT preliminary design phase in FY21 and proceeding into finalizing the detailed design of the weapon. Long Lead Material Procurements for the MK 54 MOD 2 program were initiated in FY21 to reduce the schedule risk of the program and funding to the rotary and fixed wing platforms will also be provided to begin design and development of integration efforts with aircraft necessary to support the MK 54 MOD 2 ALWT. FY22 focus will be on in-water engineering testing of Proof of Design Hardware. The Lightweight Torpedo (LWT) program designs, integrates and tests the MK 54 LWT and supports an incremental developmental acquisition approach combining hardware and Advanced Processor Build (APB) software upgrades to enable rapid fielding of improvements to the fleet. The program will focus on common LWT and Heavyweight Torpedo (HWT) hardware and software architecture enhancements that will provide improvements to the array, warhead, propulsion, and APB software to address capability gaps against challenging adversary submarines and environments. Future APB software builds will utilize common torpedo software to deliver capability and tactics improvements to the MK 54 LWT. The program will also support development of enhanced weapon delivery methods, including the high altitude launch of the MK 54 from the P-8A Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) with the HAAWC Air Launch Accessary (ALA). The High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC) development program provides the P-8A MPRA with the ability to release LWTs from high altitude to prosecute enemy submarine threats. OT was conducted at the end of FY20, and the COMOPTEVFOR report was issued in FY21, recommending fielding. Follow-on T&E (FOT&E) will be conducted in FY22 with updated flight control software. The current HAAWC design was developed to deploy the MK 54 MOD 0/1. The MK 54 MOD 2 is not compatible with HAAWC due to having different mass properties and outer mold line from the MOD 0/1 LWT. A portion of the funding in FY21 and the funding in FY22 will be utilized to conduct requirements analysis and to determine if a common HAAWC solution is viable for potential solicitation in FY24. The MK 54 MOD 1 provides significant performance improvements compared to MK 54 MOD 0 for challenging littoral, shallow water environments and adversary countermeasures. The MOD 1 program is split into 2 increments: Increment 1 focusing on the updated sonar hardware and associated APB 5 common software to provide an improved LWT to the Fleet to replace the MK 54 MOD 0s; Increment 2 is a software only upgrade (APB 6) to fully take advantage of the improved sonar hardware developed under Increment 1, update the platform interface to reduce Fleet Operator workload, and provide new capabilities such as Salvo and terminal homing improvements. The MK 54 MOD 2 improves the lethality and speed of the LWT by upgrading the Warhead and Propulsion system to counter challenging near-peer adversary submarines that are faster and deeper diving, leveraging the sonar hardware improvements developed under the MOD 1 program. The program awarded four Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements to industry partners in FY20 for the design of the Guidance and Control (G&C), Warhead, and Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System (SCEPS) afterbody sections, as well as the All Up Round (AUR) system integrator. The industry partners are focused primarily on the development of torpedo hardware and support equipment while the USN maintains the responsibility of developing the software under the APB process and will develop specific software modules for the MK 54 MOD 2 variant. In FY22, the program will be complete the preliminary design and begin engineering testing of Proof of Design (POD) hardware, as well as refining the critical design in preparation for qualification and Developmental Testing (DT). Long lead material will be procured in advance of the Proof of Manufacture (POM) assembly.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2022
Source ID
0604610N_5_1319_PB_2022
Change Summary Explanation
Proj 1412 HAAWC: Decreased FY22 request based on completing OT and closing out the remaining tasking under the developmental contract in FY21. FY22 will focus on requirements updates by the USG for a Common HAAWC design that will be compatible with the MK 54 MOD 2 Advanced Lightweight torpedo. Proj 2234 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo: Decrease FY22 funding request based on completion of in-water Operational Test runs. Funding was also decreased in the amount of $1.389M to account for the availability of prior year execution balances. Proj 3418 Advanced Anti-Submarine Lightweight Torpedo: Decrease FY22 request based on Major Preliminary Design and Development will be completed in FY21 and the shift will focus on completing the critical design and producing POD units for conducting in-water engineering testing in FY22.
Service Agency Name
Navy

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Navy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Antisubmarine Warfare
  • Contracts
  • Cost Analysis
  • High Altitude
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Navy
  • Procurement
  • Product Development
  • Program Management
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Reconnaissance Aircraft
  • Software Development
  • Submarine Warfare
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Naval Mine Countermeasure Systems Development.

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