American technology firm Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a $123 million contract to provide equipment and support services for the Taiwanese Navy’s MK-48 Mod 7 torpedoes.
According to the US Department of Defense, the contract will require the company to integrate heavyweight tail cones and a warshot fuel tank into the anti-submarine weapon.
The agreement includes other undisclosed options, which could raise the contract to its maximum potential value of $1.1 billion.
Work for the contract will take place in Indiana and Rhode Island. It is expected to be complete by July 2025 and continue until January 2033 should the Taiwanese military agree to all other options.
Aside from Taiwan, SAIC will supply torpedo afterbody and warshot fuel tanks to the US and Australian navies.
About the MK-48 Heavyweight Torpedo
Developed by Lockheed Martin, the MK-48 torpedo is currently used by the military as an anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare weapon integrated into all classes of submarines.
It features sophisticated sonar, all-digital guidance-and-control systems, and digital fusing systems for countering threats in deep and shallow waters. Its broadband sonar enhancement makes the weapon more effective against emerging submarine classes in all environments.
The company said that the weapon system has been tested numerous times, demonstrating its capability to hit targets and ensure that it will “maintain superiority over all emerging threats.”
The torpedo can transmit and receive data over a wide frequency band, improving its search, acquisition, and attack effectiveness.
“The MK-48 Mod 7 CBASS utilizes modern commercial-off-the-shelf technologies in an open-architecture computing environment and is able to remain at technology’s cutting edge through regular hardware and software upgrades,” Lockheed stated on its website.