Saab Conducted Its First Test of a Torpedo Launch from an Unmanned Boat
Saab conducted a test launch of a small torpedo from an unmanned boat. The tests marked the next stage in evaluating the capabilities of this type of weapon.
The CB90 boat, equipped with two launch tubes for Torped 47 torpedoes—also known as SLWTs—took part in the tests.
The torpedo tests were conducted jointly by the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV), the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI), and Saab.
The work is being carried out as part of an assessment of the torpedoes’ suitability for use against enemy surface combat ships as a potential weapon for the future Amphibious Battalion 2030.
The reform of the Swedish amphibious forces, known as “Amphibious Battalion 2030” (Amfibiebataljon 2030, or Amfbat 2030), envisages a large-scale modernization and enhancement of Sweden’s capabilities to defend its coastline and the archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.
Saab Torped 47
The Torped 47 is Sweden’s newest torpedo, which entered service in 2023 to replace the obsolete Torped 45. It was designed with the complex hydrological conditions of the Baltic Sea in mind.
The torpedo is 2.85 meters long, 400 mm in diameter, and weighs approximately 340 kg. It is capable of reaching speeds of at least 35 knots and has a range of at least 20 km.
The key objective of the tests was not to create a new weapon system, but to verify the feasibility of mounting heavy anti-ship and anti-submarine munitions on a platform for which they were not originally intended—a small mobile landing craft.
The test campaign was not limited to the manned CB90. The Swedish military also launched a torpedo from the T24 Devil Ray unmanned surface vehicle (USV), manufactured by the American company MARTAC.
The company’s press office posted a video of the test on Saab’s official YouTube channel.
Shares of the Swedish manufacturer Saab fell following the crash of the Hungarian Gripen.
On Monday, August 24, a Gripen fighter jet belonging to the Hungarian Armed Forces crashed near the Hungarian city of Szolnok. The cause of the crash is currently unknown.
On August 17, a small private helicopter crashed on the Greek island of Sifnos in the Aegean Sea. All three people on board were killed in the crash.
