Andrea PressendoScience Applications International Corporation or SAIC has been awarded a $1.1B contract to manufacture, assemble, test and deliver US Navy MK 48 MOD 7 torpedo tail cones (AB/TC) and Warshot Fuel Tanks MK29 Mod 0.
The AB/TC is the section of the torpedo containing the propulsion and navigation systems, with 26 major subassemblies requiring the integration of more than 500 parts and pieces into each.
In October 2020, SAIC had been awarded a U.S. Navy contract to provide mission engineering and integration support for the production, testing and delivery of MK 29 Warshot and MK 28 exercise torpedo fuel tanks for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center division in Keyport.
Previously, in May 2020, the U.S. Navy awarded SAIC a contract to perform testing and data collection of MK 48 heavy torpedoes and MK 54 and MK 46 light torpedoes in support of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center division in Newport.
The MK 48 MOD 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) is the heavy torpedo manufactured by Lockheed Martin that is in use by the U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Koninklijke Marine.
The MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS torpedo is the US Navy’s most powerful anti-surface and anti-submarine weapon and is designed to be extremely lethal and effective against submarines operating in deep and shallow water.
The broadband sonar enhancement makes the torpedo more effective against submarines operating in the harshest acoustic environments.
The CBASS torpedo also has the capability of multiband operation; in fact, the MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS offers the ability to transmit and receive over a wide frequency band and take advantage of wideband signal processing techniques to significantly improve search, acquisition and attack effectiveness of the torpedo.
The MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS has an active and/or passive search (homing) system and is capable of getting right submarines with advanced countermeasure capabilities.
CBASS is highly effective against submarines operating in shallow waters with low Doppler reflection, fast submarines sailing in deep waters and high performance surface ships.
The guidance system consists of the filoguide that allows data updates from the submarine that launched it or the “launch and forget” capability with the torpedo that, released from the filoguide, activates the search sensor.
The MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS weighs 1,676 kg (5,676 lbs.), is 5.8 meters (5.8 ft.) long, 533 mm (2.5 in.) in diameter, can reach a maximum depth of 1,200 feet and has a range of 5 nautical miles (about 10 km), with speeds in excess of 28 knots.
It has a 650-pound (292.5 kg) high-explosive warhead and is equipped with an Otto Fuel II piston engine.
Image: Lockheed Martin
