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Northrop Grumman has announced they will be manufacturing the US Navy’s new advanced lightweight torpedo.
The contract for the delivery and manufacture of the weapon is valued at $233 million, utilising Northrop Grumman’s “state-of-the-art facilities and technologies” in Minnesota and West Virginia to produce this “urgent” weapon.
“Northrop Grumman is leveraging over 80 years of innovative torpedo technology, combined with our capacity and speed in delivery, to accelerate the design qualification and manufacturing for the advanced lightweight torpedo,” said Dave Fine, Northrop Grumman’s armament systems vice president.
“This new weapon will provide US and allied sailors with a next-generation response to counter the most advanced undersea threats.”
The weapon is being built under the Advanced Lightweight Torpedo program and will be designed under the MK54 MOD 2 model. This type of torpedo features advanced warhead and processing capabilities, increased performance and enhanced lethality.
Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facilities take up over 30 million square feet, providing its over 100,000 workers with advanced processing and production capabilities.
The torpedo offers tracking, classifying and attacking capabilities with targeted underwater features, making it operable in a range of maritime environments.
This wider range of capabilities Northrop Grumman offers in the torpedo is mirrored in the company’s arsenal of advanced weapons as they seek to develop more systems that “defeat and deter threats”. These include missiles, armaments, electronics, components and interceptors.
The US Navy and other military subsets are on a mission to advance their weapons systems to align with the Department of War’s “Arsenal of Freedom” plan that seeks to domesticate the US defence industry.
