RN and RAF Get New Torpedo
Fri, February 14, 2003
Source: MoD Navy
The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force will be equipped with the world's most advanced lightweight torpedo system
The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force will be equipped with the world's most advanced lightweight torpedo system, under a contract announced by Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Bach. The £441 million contract for the upgrade of the Sting Ray lightweight torpedo has been awarded to BAE SYSTEMS and will sustain approximately 300 jobs across the UK, with at least 120 of them at Waterlooville in Hampshire.
The award of the manufacturing contract will see the upgrading of the UK's Sting Ray torpedoes, which are the main anti-submarine weapons carried by our surface ships and aircraft.
Lord Bach said:
"This is excellent news, both for our armed forces and for the UK defence industry. The new, more advanced Sting Ray will provide the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force with a world-class anti-submarine capability and will be a key component of our maritime defence force.
The programme which will start delivery in 2006, will ensure that the Sting Ray torpedo remains operational well into the first quarter of the century. I am also pleased to announce that this contract will sustain around 300 jobs at BAE Systems and its suppliers and will keep this country at the forefront of torpedo technology."
Fitted with the latest technology the Sting Ray will be significantly more capable than the existing model. Designed to counter modern enemy submarines in either deep or coastal waters, it has undergone an exhaustive range of tests and trials. Equipped with an advanced computer system which will make it faster, quieter and more manoeuvrable than the original.
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