BAE Signs up to Support Royal Navy Torpedoes

BAE Systems has signed a ten-year contract with The UK ministry of defence for support and maintenance of torpedoes used by the UKs naval fleet.

The contract covers all aspects of support and maintenance for the Spearfish torpedoes used by the submarine fleet, as well as the Sting Ray torpedoes used by navy ships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft.

MoD defence equipment and support torpedoes project team leader Captain Jim Johnson said that the contract was a big improvement over legacy arrangements and would significantly reduce costs.

"The contract delivers more coherent and affordable support for torpedoes and also provides the foundation for the development and upgrade of the Spearfish weapon," Johnson said.

The Spearfish is optimised for anti-submarine warfare, which communicates with the launch submarine via a wire-guided link. The Stingray, a lightweight anti-submarine torpedo, which is fully autonomous once launched, is carried aboard RN ships, Lynx and Merlin helicopters and RAF Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft.