The Royal Navy has tested the upgraded Spearfish torpedo from a Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
The maiden sea acceptance trial from the Vanguard-class vessel certifies the weapon’s deployability with the second nuclear-powered class of Royal Navy submarines after the Astute.
It involved engaging both surface and submerged targets, allowing the crew to operate the weapon, test-firing it with the vessel’s combat system, and ensuring command and control.
“These firings continue to be a major step in ensuring the Royal Navy’s Spearfish torpedoes remain ready to face the latest threats, with cutting edge technology at the forefront of the weapon’s success,” Commodore Chris Goodsell said.
Upgraded Spearfish
The Spearfish has been the Royal Navy’s primary anti-submarine and anti-surface torpedo for three decades, capable of neutralizing hostile submarines, frigates, destroyers, and large warships.
Its improved variant, the Spearfish Mod 1, features a “new warhead, a safer fuel system, a smarter electronic ‘brain’ and a fiber-optic guidance link with its parent submarine to improve its accuracy and lethality.”
The navy plans to transition its existing Spearfish into the improved version by 2025.