MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS Heavyweight Torpedoes Delivered to the Fleet.

First MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS Heavyweight Torpedoes Delivered to the Fleet.

By Team Submarine Public Affairs, December 14, 2006

WASHINGTON — The first Warshot MK 48 Mod 7 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) Heavyweight Torpedoes were delivered to the Fleet and loaded aboard the USS Pasadena (SSN 752) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7.

The MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS torpedo is the product of a joint engineering, development, manufacturing and support project between the United States and Australia and will be the primary weapon aboard both navies’ submarines.

“The close relationship between the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has led to the design, development, and now introduction to the Fleet of the most effective littoral anti-shipping weapon in the world,” said Program Executive Officer for Submarines Rear Adm. William Hilarides. “The interoperability that the CBASS provides is a force multiplier for both of our nations and a critical factor in the Global Maritime Partnership Initiative.”

“Through our partnership with the RAN, we have incorporated their operational experience with our own, making the MK 48 CBASS a substantially better weapon than its closest competitors,” added Hilarides.

Optimized for shallow water operations, the MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS is the world’s premier submarine-launched torpedo. Coupled with the AN/BYG-1 Combat Control System, also cooperatively developed between the Navy and RAN, the CBASS is an exceedingly potent anti-surface and anti-submarine weapon. The sonar enhancements make the torpedo effective in shallow waters and allow it to defeat all types of countermeasures in all environments.

The MK 48 Mod 7, utilizing commercial-off-the-shelf technologies in an open-architecture computing environment, is able to remain at technology’s cutting edge through regular hardware and software upgrades.

“Australia is proud to be a part of the MK 48 CBASS and AN/BYG-1 programs, said RAN’s Director General Submarines, Commodore Boyd Robinson. “With their spiral development, our weapons and combat control systems will be virtually obsolescent-proof.”

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) is the Navy’s prime production supplier for light and heavyweight torpedoes, including the MK48 Mod 7 CBASS. Raytheon IDS is also the prime developer and systems integrator of the AN/BYG-1 combat management system for both the Navy and RAN, providing synergy and interoperability in the delivery of this advanced capability to the fleet.

“Together with the United States and Australian navies, Raytheon is proud to celebrate this milestone of our global government-industry partnership,” said Dan Smith, president of Raytheon IDS. “The success of this total enterprise partnership is evident in the development and delivery of the most advanced, reliable and effective weapons systems to meet the needs of United States and allied naval fleets worldwide.”