The contract with Lockheed Martin covers the cost of production of the torpedoes, spare parts, and support for the US and its partners.

The US Navy will pay Lockheed Martin $257 million to produce Mk 48 torpedoes—the same torpedo that famously sank the IRIS Dena earlier this year—for the US Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and other partners.

The contract is “to exercise options for production, spares, production support material, engineering support, and hardware repair of components for MK 48 Heavyweight Torpedo All Up Round in support of the MK 48 MOD 7 Heavyweight Torpedo program,” the Department of Defense said in the contract award.  

With China on the rise, the contract is aimed at ensuring that in a potential clash, the Navy and its allies will have the necessary tools to prevail in the seas. 

Lockheed Martin will perform work in New York and Massachusetts. The Navy expects the contract to be completed by 2029.  

How the US Navy Uses the Mk 48 Torpedo

As the Navy’s main torpedo, the Mk 48 is one of the most important anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare weapons in the Navy’s arsenal.  

The Navy has four types of submarines, and all carry the Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo. Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class fast attack subs carry more torpedoes than Ohio-class ballistic or guided missile subs. The weapon ensures that every submarine, regardless of its primary mission, will be able to sink another enemy sub (the anti-submarine warfare mission set) or adversary surface combatants of commercial shipping (the anti-surface warfare mission set). 

The weapon system accounts for the most recent submarine kill. In the opening hours of Operation Epic Fury, the USS Charlotte, a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, used a Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo to sink the IRIS Dena, an Iranian Moudge-class frigate. Unclassified footage released by the Pentagon showed the Mk 48 struck the Iranian warship in the aft, lifting it in the entire frigate into the air and causing catastrophic damage. This was the US Navy’s first submarine kill since World War II. 

These Other Navies Use the Mk 48 Torpedo

The Mk 48 heavy torpedo is in service with a limited number of navies. Besides the US Navy, the weapon system is in service with the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Republic of China Navy (Taiwanese Navy), and the Brazilian Navy. 

About the Mk 48 Torpedo

The Mk 48 is a heavyweight, acoustic-homing torpedo designed to sink warships, commercial vessels, and submarines. The torpedo relies on sophisticated sonar, an all-digital guidance and control system, a digital fusing system, and a robust propulsion system to hit targets tens of miles away.  

• Year Introduced: 1972 
• Number Built: N/A 
• Length: 19 feet (5.7 meters) 
• Weight: 3,700 lbs (~1,680 kg) 
• Diameter: 21-inch (530mm) 
• Engines: Swash-plate piston engine 
• Top Speed: 65 miles per hour (~105 kilometers per hour) 
• Range: Depends on speed (approximately 31 miles at lower speeds) 
• Armaments: 650 lbs high explosive warhead  

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou   

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a JD from Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP. 

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