Torpedo under development for carriage by the F-16

[Spey_Phantom]

i just discovered something and i thought i post it here 

apparently Belgium and Norway are developing a new anti-ship torpedo, deigned to be used by the F-16MLU 

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bvt_601

here's a translation (from: http://translation2.paralink.com/)

BVT 601 is a torpedo of Belgian manufacture in cooperation with Norway nowadays at the stage of archetype. FN (National Plant based in Herstal) began its development in 2005.

This torpedo would be equipped with RASAPD (Re-programmable Advanced Sonar and Passive Detection) allowing him to differentiate the friendly or enemy ships as well as of an advanced motor of propulsion conferring on him a rather following distance of shooting (but no figure is this day known) According to certain statements [evasive], this torpedo should equip the Fr 16 MLU of Belgian Air Force and to confer on him so a capacity anti-ship for next years.

The first real tests would have been accomplished on the Belgian coast in the zone of Lombardsijde in December, 2007, to validate the envelope of shooting.

its kinda strange for a country such as belgium to have an Anti-ship torpedo on an F-16, our coastline is only 60 kilometers long 

[dy031101]

Torpedo for a fast jet...... 

[Sauragnmon]

Yes, for Belgium it is a weird idea, Nils, but when you consider Norway, which has plenty of coastal assets, a torpedo is in some ways a practical solution.  Further to the edge, this is Belgium, and there IS a habit of arms exporting and trading in Belgium.

To the additional edge, I heard there was a Russian jet-carried torpedo as well designed to be dropped from some of the modern jets.

[pyro-manic]

FN is a huge company, and Norway's F-16s have a prominent anti-shipping role - they already carry the Penguin missile, as do a lot of their warships. Seems reasonable to me.

[dy031101]

To the additional edge, I heard there was a Russian jet-carried torpedo as well designed to be dropped from some of the modern jets.

IIRC, there is a variety of anti-submarine guided weapons for the Su-32FN; some are rocket-propelled, others use waterjet.

That one I can kinda understand, considering the submarines can't shoot back at aircraft.

Or is FN's torpedo as mentioned by Nils a rocket- or turbojet-thrown weapon (as in...... the best example I've got is the Ikara missile)?

[Sauragnmon]

no, I'm meaning a torpedo meant to be dropped from a jet, nothing extremely fancy, not that I recall anyways.

[pyro-manic]

Well, MPAs - Nimrods, Bears, Orions etc - drop torps, so why not an inderdictor like the Fullback? There might be some restrictions on speed and manoeuvring when they're carried (and on launching). There could also be an aerodynamic fairing that fits over the nose (and tail?) when carried, to reduce drag.

[dy031101]

no, I'm meaning a torpedo meant to be dropped from a jet, nothing extremely fancy, not that I recall anyways.

They're all the same kind of things- just that they are for differnt kinds of maritime targets, and not all of them are prop-driven.

[ChernayaAkula]

Or maybe it's a torpedo launched like a Harpoon, Exocet, Sea Eagle, you-name-it, flying like an ASM at first, but rather then impacting with the whole missile above the waterline the missile drops/transforms into a torpedo a couple of clicks short of the target, thus staying  out of the engagement envelope of CIWS like Phalanx or Goalkeeper.

[pyro-manic]

An interesting idea, that - an air-launched Ikara/ASROC. It'd be a light torpedo, though - trying to do that with a heavyweight like a Spearfish or ADCAP would make for one huge, heavy missile.

[Sauragnmon]

Hehehehehehe design a flight carriage canister for a Type 65 and hang that sucker in the tunnel on a Fullback... give it snap-out wings on the top, have the canister pop once it breaks the water, unleash the Type 65 low profile.  Now That would be mean and sadistic and beautiful.

[B777LR]

That one I can kinda understand, considering the submarines can't shoot back at aircraft.

Not quite, the Soviet / Russian Akula and Typhoons both come with launchers for 1 SA-N-10 Igla missiles. Probably best against helicopters, but still to be taken carefully. 
Janes reported some years back that France was developing a missile defence system for submarines. Not sure what happened to that though...

[Weaver]

The Soviets had an unguided anti-ship torpedo that could be dropped from the Il-28.

My guess is that the idea is (as others have stated) to bypass the extensive range of CIWS/PDMS/ECM missiles are confronted with by modern warships. Anti-torpedo defences are a lot less common and less relaible than anti-missile ones. The only problem with torpedoes is their relatively slow speed which gives the traget time to react if they hear it coming early enough: dropping it from a fast jet at relatively (for a torpedo) short range gives you the best of both worlds.

Some of the earliest anti-ship missiles were actually designed to either strike below the waterline having entered the water some distance before, or actually drop a torpedo. The French Malafon anti-submarine weapon (which uses a 21" diameter torpedo, not a lightweight) was based on German WWII anti-ship research.

[dy031101]

Not quite, the Soviet / Russian Akula and Typhoons both come with launchers for 1 SA-N-10 Igla missiles. Probably best against helicopters, but still to be taken carefully. 

I've always figured...... wouldn't the helicopter have been afforded time to respond as the submarine must surface to launch the MANPADS?

Or was the idea that the helicopter might become vulnerable thinking they've got prisoners of war instead of kills?

[Weaver]

Not quite, the Soviet / Russian Akula and Typhoons both come with launchers for 1 SA-N-10 Igla missiles. Probably best against helicopters, but still to be taken carefully. 

I've always figured...... wouldn't the helicopter have been afforded time to respond as the submarine must surface to launch the MANPADS?

Or was the idea that the helicopter might become vulnerable thinking they've got prisoners of war instead of kills?

Think it was for a sub caught on the surface more than anything.

I did read a speculative article many years ago that claimed the Soviets had a towed, buoyant missile pack which could be deploye dunderwater and then fired when it broke surface, but I'm not sure if there's any proof it actually existed. There was also the Vickers SLAM, of course: 6 x Blowpipes wrapped around a TV camera on telescopic pole, retracting into a pressure vessel on the fin. That could be deployed at periscope depth. The rumour has always been that three Israeli subs were fitted "for but not with" this system.