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MU90 Impact

Lightweight ASW torpedo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MU90 Impact
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The MU90 Impact is a Franco-Italian advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the third generation[3] developed for the French and Italian navies, as well as for export. It is designed to outperform the United States-built Mark 54 in and was developed in a special MU90 Hard Kill version for anti-torpedo defence.[2] It is built by EuroTorp, a consortium of French and Italian companies.

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History

The MU90 was the result of separate projects in France and Italy from the 1980s. In France, a project under the direction of Thomson Sintra created the "Murène" in 1989, while in Italy Whitehead started work on an A244 replacement known as the A290. In 1990 the first attempts to merge the two efforts started, a process that was completed in 1993 with the formation of EuroTorp.[4]

France intended to use the new torpedo on its frigates, Atlantique 2 aircraft, Lynx helicopters and NFH90 helicopters.[1] It originally wanted 1000 units, but the end of the Cold War saw this cut to 600 in 1991, 450 in 2000 and finally 300 in 2008.[1] The project cost the government €1,150m in 2012 prices at a unit cost of €1.6m, or €3.8m including development costs.[1] It received 25 torpedoes a year until 2014.[1]

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Design

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The MU90 is designed to be capable of discriminating between actual and perceived threat, including a bottomed stationary mini-submarine, known versions of anechoic coatings, and various decoys. It is also capable of launch speeds up to 400 knots (740 km/h; 460 mph)[citation needed], allowing it to be dropped from maritime patrol aircraft flying at high speeds, or rocket-assist launchers. Powered by an electric pump-jet, it can be run at "silent" speeds to avoid giving its location away to the submarine, or "dash" at speeds over 29 knots.[5] It uses a shaped charge warhead that can penetrate any known submarine hull, in particular Soviet double hull designs, while remaining just as deadly in shallow waters where conventional warheads are less effective.

In 1986 France and Italy began a collaboration to develop an anti-submarine missile based on the Italian Otomat missile. France dropped out of the programme but Italy has fitted the MBDA MILAS missile to its Durand de la Penne-class destroyers and FREMM anti-submarine frigates. MILAS is an 800 kg (1,800 lb) missile that can deliver a MU90 to 35 kilometres (19 nmi).

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Exports

After deciding that its Mark 46 torpedoes were inadequate, Australia set up the JP2070 project in 1998 to buy torpedoes for its Adelaide-class frigates, Anzac-class frigates, AP-3C Orion aircraft, S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopters and planned SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopters.[6] The Seasprites were cancelled and the Orions and Seahawks were removed from the MU90 programme on budget grounds; their replacements, the P-8 Poseidon and MH-60R Seahawk will use the US Mark 54 torpedo.[6] The A$639m[6] project to buy a classified number of MU90 has been heavily criticised by the Australian National Audit Office on the grounds of cost, insufficient test firings which failed to reveal defects in the torpedo, and the lack of commonality with the Navy's air-launched torpedoes. The MU90 reached IOC in November 2012.[6]

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Map with MU90 operators in blue

Operators

Aircraft

Current aircraft operational with the MU90

France
Germany
Italy
Poland
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Future aircraft to use the MU90

Germany

Potential aircraft to use the MU90

France
Poland

Aircraft retired that used the MU90

France
Germany

Ships

Current ships operational with the MU90

Australia
Denmark
Egypt
France
Germany
Italy
Morocco
Poland
Singapore
  • 6 Formidable class frigates, available on the class after modernisation (2 × Eurotorp B515/3 torpedo launchers).[45]
United Arab Emirates

Future ships to use the MU90

Australia
France
Greece
Italy
  • 2 FREMM EVO frigates (ASW-enhanced variant), the Italian FREMM (each ship with 2 × Eurotorp B515/3 torpedo launchers)[56][57][58]
Note: the FREMM EVO seems to be the last ship in production to receive the MU90, as the Thaon di Revel class OPV is receiving the new lightweight torpedo from Leonardo, the Black Arrow.[59]
Poland
Ukraine

Potential ships to use the MU90

Australia
  • Up to 11 New FFM, an upgraded variant of the Mogami class, it might use the same torpedo as the other Australian Navy ships.[62]
Denmark
  • 6 OMT MPV-80 modular OPV, for which planned ASW modules that could use the MU90 torpedo.[63]
Singapore
  • 6 MRCV class MCM (2 × Eurotorp B515 torpedo launchers with MU90 or A244 MOD.3).[64]

Ships that used the MU90

Australia
France
Italy

Cancelled projects that would have used the MU90

Poland
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See also

References

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