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Work begins on £60m next-generation Sting Ray torpedo to protect the Fleet
13 September 2024
The Fleet’s mainstay lightweight torpedo is to receive a £60m upgrade to counter the latest underwater threat.
Whitehall has awarded BAE Systems a contract to enhance Sting Ray, the standard torpedo carried by Royal Navy ships and helicopters… as well as by the RAF’s new Poseidon P8 long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
Sting Ray has been in service since 1983. It’s currently carried by Merlin and Wildcat helicopters which drop the weapon into the sea in the vicinity of a suspected hostile submarines, or else it’s fired by horizontal launchers on a Type 23 frigate.
The existing Mod 1 variant powers through the ocean at up to 45kts, honing in on its submerged target through active/passive sonar. Upon impact its 45kg Torpex explosive charge – which accounts for one sixth of the torpedo’s weight – detonates and destroys the target.
Although constantly upgraded since introduction, the time has come for a fundamental revamp of Sting Ray to develop a new version.
Over the next four years experts from BAE Systems in Portsmouth and Fife will design, develop and the construct prototypes of Sting Ray Mod 2, before conducting in-water trials.
The upgrade will introduce new technological features, including added deployment options, ensuring that Sting Ray continues to meet the challenge of emerging threats now and into the future.
It comes as the Royal Navy’s heavyweight torpedo, Spearfish, has undergone its mid-life upgrade and is now being introduced into service with the Submarine Service.
“This is great news for the Royal Navy and other Sting Ray users,” said Commodore Steve Bolton, Deputy Director Aviation Programmes for the Royal Navy.
“We are taking what is already a very good anti-submarine warfare weapon and turning it into the best in class.”
Scott Jamieson, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Maritime Services business, said the upgrades would benefit the UK – and her allies – long into the future.
“The Sting Ray torpedo remains at the heart of anti-submarine warfare. It’s a huge sign of confidence for the Company to be entering the next phase of development and be able to demonstrate its additional capabilities.
“This contract is vitally important to the UK’s strategic underwater defence plans and an important step in the advancement of our capability for decades to come.”
The contract will support more than 100 highly-skilled engineering/manufacturing jobs at BAE Systems’ sites in Portsmouth and Hillend, Fife, and will also support high-tech suppliers across the UK.