Sonar Electronics in Heavyweight Torpedoes

Australia and the United States Navy are in a partnership for the cooperative development, production, and through-life support of replacement Heavyweight Torpedoes (HWT).

The development program involves replacing the existing Mk 48 Mod 4 analogue HWT with the digital Mk 48 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) HWT (Mk 48 Mod 7 CBASS HWT).

DST is supporting the project through the development of advanced algorithms for the torpedo, detailed analysis of in-water firings, and through the operation of the Torpedo Analysis Facility (TAF) acquired by the project - which is located at the DST Torpedo Systems Centre. This facility is used to study the performance of new heavyweight torpedoes in a high-fidelity, synthetic, controlled environment.