Free Republic

LIVORNO, Italy, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A new torpedo from Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei has been launched in a test by the Italian Navy. The company said the Black Shark advanced torpedo was fired from the submarine Scire in "push out" mode, a water ram expulsion system that ejects the torpedo by means of high water pressure. The firing was a test to assess progress in development of the torpedo, which will replace A-184 torpedoes now in service with the Italian Navy. "The Black Shark is the result of Italian research and cutting-edge technology," said Alessandro Franzoni, chief executive officer of...

France Adds New Torpedo To Submarine Arsenal Feb 2, 2011 By Christina Mackenzie St. Tropez, France Torpedoes are potent weapons, if rarely used. Excluding the sinking of a South Korean ship last March by North Korea, the last torpedo used in combat was by the Royal Navy in the Falklands War, “and they used a torpedo from World War II,” says Marc Le Roy, director of BU ASM (Business Unit Armes Sous Marines), the underwater weapons business of French naval systems developer DCNS. Nevertheless, France is investing in the development of a new generation of heavyweight torpedo, the F21, which...