U.S. defense giant Raytheon has received an $80 million U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification for the production of the Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo.
The contract involves foreign military sales to Canada, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and India under the Foreign Military Sales program (76.0 %).
The U.S. Department of Defense said Friday that Raytheon Co. Integrated Defense Systems, won an $80 million contract modification to launch production of the MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo MOD 0 and MOD 1 common parts kits and spare torpedo components.
This action is to exercise Option Year Three of the MK 54 LWT common parts kit program to supply all up rounds and functional item replacement upgrade kits. This option provides MK 54 LWT MOD 0 and MOD 1 common parts kits for the Navy and Foreign Military Sales partners, in addition to spares, production support material, and related engineering services and hardware support.
The company’s website said the MK 54 can be deployed from a surface ship, helicopter or fixed wing aircraft to track, classify and attack underwater targets. It uses sophisticated processing algorithms to analyze the information, edit out false targets or countermeasures, and then pursue identified threats.
The MK 54 program leverages the most modern torpedo technologies from the MK 50 and MK 48 ADCAP (advanced capability) programs. It also utilizes the proven MK 46 warhead and propulsion subsystems. The result is a low-cost weapon that meets all performance requirements for littoral warfare.
Featuring many improved capabilities, the MK 54 is the next-generation of the MK 46 torpedo. In fact, navies with MK 46 models in their inventory can easily convert them into MK 54 torpedoes using the low-cost MK 54 Upgrade Kit. The kit, which is easily installed in-country, replaces yesterday’s components with state-of-the-art digital technology. Moreover, the MK 54 can be incorporated into any modern navy with minimum conversion costs because it is compatible with over 20 launch platforms.