In
late December 2025 a contract was signed with Italy’s Leonardo for supply of 48
Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes for Indian Navy’s (IN) Scorpène Class
hunter-killer submarines (SSK). Deliveries are to commence from April 2028 and
completed by early 2030 ensuring seamless integration with Scorpène’s
SUBTICS combat management system. WASS demonstrated the Black Shark torpedo
during the Euronaval exhibition in Paris in October 2010. The torpedo was also
exhibited during Defexpo, a major international exhibition of naval and land
defence and security, in New Delhi, India, in March 2012. The Black Shark new generation Heavyweight Torpedo (HWT), in
words of the manufacturer, is most advanced, technologically and operationally,
multi-purpose weapon designed to be launched from submarines or surface
vessels. It has been designed to counter the most challenging threat posed by
any type of surface or underwater target for at least the next 30 years. The Black
Shark is a 21” standard diameter, powerful, long range, fully stealth, wire
guided and self-homing HWT with incomparable capabilities obtained at
affordable cost.
The Black Shark
has been developed by Leonardo (previously Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei/WASS)
under contracts issued by the Italian Navy which is closely supporting the
programme. WASS developed the Black Shark torpedo as an evolution of the A184,
with more advanced Electronic Counter-countermeasures (ECCM)
abilities and sonar. The advancements in electric motor design and battery
allowed an increase in both range and speed.
Leonardo is
also the Prime Contractor and Design Authority of the complete Torpedo System.
More than 100 torpedoes are being manufactured and delivered to a number of
important navies in three continents. Following the successful completion of
the easy and affordable integration activities, the Black Shark is now in
service with U209, U212, U214 and Scorpène Class submarines.
Main characteristics
include dual purpose anti-submarine/anti-ship torpedo roles, an optimisation for
deep and very shallow (coastal) water deployment, swim-out and push-out launch
capabilities, short length allowing easy integration with any submarine
handling and launching system, Stanag 4405 interface compatibility to ease the
electrical and functional integration with all modern combat systems, full
stealth with practically undetectable radiated noise obtained by the
state-of-the-art propulsion system, electrical propulsion system with high energy
rechargeable battery, very high top speed (50+ knots) with stepless control in
the whole speed range, reliable optical fibre wire guidance link with high
speed data rate, increased bandwidth and enhanced signal processing ensures tactical
situation being continuously upgraded by the wire guidance link, available to
the operator for threat assessment and target selection. Optimised acoustic
head shape ensures reduced flow noise, (target acquisition limited by sea state
noise) and shallow water reverberation. Black Shark has a range of 50 km.
Acoustic section is armed with fully digital
beam forming and advanced signal and data processing, long detection range even
on small, zero doppler and silenced targets audio channel and demon analysis
capabilities performed on board the torpedo. Very sophisticated Acoustic
Counter-Countermeasures (ACCM) features include simultaneous multi-target capabilities.
The
acoustic head of the Black Shark, named ASTRA (Advanced Sonar Transmitting and
Receiving Architecture), is a state of the art active and passive acoustic head
for modern torpedoes which represents the latest effort made by Leonardo. It is
possible to use ASTRA as an additional remote sensor of the submarines combat
suite. The advanced signal and data processing provides medium and high
frequency operation in passive mode, spatial filtering, multi-frequency and
multi-code capabilities, frequency filtering, constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR)
processing, DEMON analysis, Echo elongation, spatial coherence and angular extension
analysis.
The electrical propulsion system consists of a new design advanced Lithium Polymer
re chargeable aluminium
silver oxide (Al-AgO) battery, with a very high power and energy content, of a contra-rotating
direct drive brushless motor and of skewed propellers which assure a minimum
radiated noise and wakeless run and make impossible the torpedo detectability
at useful ranges even by modern towed sonars. Developed by Saft, the
AgO-Al batteries are provided with high energy density and high electrolyte
conductivity offering maximum safety and storage life of up to 12 years.
Multiple wake sensors are available for
detection and classification, immune to countermeasures and for optimised wake
homing capability plus target simultaneous tracking and homing in acoustic and
wake modes. The Insensitive Munition Explosive warhead (STANAG 4439) is lethal
for surface vessels and submarines, activated by both acoustic influence and
impact fuses, is safe and reliable in any operational phase and the warhead
proven against real targets. Black Shark can be launched at any operational
depth of the submarine in discreet mode (start up at low speed, cavitation
free). Continuous monitoring is performed of Torpedo Board Interface (TBI)
solutions for integration on existing platforms and different types of Combat
Management Systems (CMS).
Sayan Majumdar