WASHINGTON – U.S. Navy undersea warfare experts are asking Progeny Systems Corp. in Manassas, Va., to upgrade and enhance electronic subsystems on the U.S. Navy's Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) version of the MK 48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo.
Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $115.7 million contract Friday to Progeny Systems for services to provide detail design, engineering development models, proof-of-design units, proof-of-manufacturing units, low-rate initial production units and factory test equipment for the CBASS torpedo.
The CBASS broadband sonar makes the torpedo more effective against emerging submarine classes in harsh acoustic environments, say officials of the torpedo's designer, the Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Washington.
The Mark 48 Mod 7 CBASS torpedo uses modern commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies in an open-architecture computing environment, and can be improved with regular hardware and software upgrades. The contract has options that could increase its value to $186.6 million.
Related: Navy asks Lockheed Martin to upgrade sonar subsystem in Mark 48 submarine-launched torpedo
The Mark 48 Mod 7 torpedo is standard armament for the Navy's fleet of Los Angeles-, Virginia-, and Seawolf-class fast attack submarines, as well as Ohio-class ballistic-missile and cruise-missile submarines.
Lockheed Martin is building the Mark 48 Mod 7 CBASS heavyweight torpedo with advanced common broadband advanced sonar system for expanded operational capabilities for shallow waters along coastlines and inside harbors, as well as in the deep-water open ocean.
The CBASS torpedo also has the ability of multiband operation with active and passive homing; advanced counter-countermeasure capabilities; effectiveness against low-Doppler shallow submarines, fast deep diving submarines, and high-performance surface ships; autonomous fire-and-forget operation or wire-guide capability to enable post-launch monitoring and updates via the submarine combat system; and running Otto Fuel II as the propellant.
The Mark 48 Mod 7 CBASS torpedo can transmit and receive over a wide frequency band and use broadband signal processing techniques to improve the torpedo’s search, acquisition, and attack, Lockheed Martin officials say.
The Mark 48 torpedo is 19 feet long, 21 inches in diameter, and weighs 3,500 pounds. It can be used as deep as 1,200 feet at distances as far as five miles. The torpedo can travel at 28 knots and has a 650-pound high-explosive warhead.
On this contract Progeny Systems will do the work in Manassas, Va.; Salt Lake City; Middletown and Cranston, R.I.; Charleroi, Pa.; and Annapolis, Md., and should be finished by February 2024.
For more information contact Progeny Systems online at www.progeny.net, or Naval Sea Systems Command at www.navsea.navy.mil.
