Defense and security company Saab announced on Monday that it has made the first deliveries of the new lightweight torpedo (Saab Lightweight Torpedo) to Sweden’s defense procurement agency FMV.
According to a press release from Saab, the new torpedo, named Torped 47 by the Swedish Armed Forces, is Sweden’s new lightweight torpedo system for defense against foreign submarines.
The torpedo is intended primarily for Swedish submarines and Visby corvettes, but it is also prepared for integration on helicopters. FMV is now undertaking final verification of the torpedo system to ensure it meets their requirements, before commissioning with the Royal Swedish Navy.
“The first delivery of our new lightweight torpedo marks an important milestone for the development project, which is one of our largest ever within our business unit Underwater Systems. Now the process of commissioning and replacing Sweden’s existing lightweight torpedo with the new one begins, with Saab ensuring that Sweden has a state-of-the-art lightweight torpedo at the forefront of technology,” said Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.
The torpedo has been specially developed for the environment in the Baltic Sea with its shallow water and a complex topography and seabed. These place high demands on the locating and identification of submarines, as well as on navigation and communication by the torpedo.
The new lightweight torpedo was ordered by Sweden in 2016, followed by Finland in 2018.