IMT providing submarine torpedo support

The Institute for Maritime Technology (IMT), part of the Armscor Defence Institutes, has been awarded a R3 million contract to provide undisclosed submarine underwater torpedo support services to the South African Navy.

The IMT is located just south of Simon's Town harbour, the country's main naval base. The work was awarded last week and appears to be the second such contract in six month. A R307 955.83 deal was announced in late September last year. 

The AEG SUT 264 heavyweight torpedo is the main weapon of the Manthatisi-class diesel-electric submarine fleet of the SA Navy. 

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S Korean Navy launches third Aegis destroyer

SEOUL (BNS): The South Korean Navy Thursday launched its third Aegis destroyer, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, at a Hyundai Heavy Industries’ facility near Seoul.

The 7,600-ton warship, equipped with the US-made state-of-the-art Aegis air defence system, was handed over to the Navy by its builder the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. at its Ulsan facility near Seoul, the official Yonhap news agency said.

The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is the third King Sejong the Great class of destroyers, which are also called KDX-III class of warships.

France Adds New Torpedo To Submarine

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 will be the weapon of choice for its nuclear submarines over the next 30-40 years. “France is the latest country to develop a new heavyweight torpedo,” says Le Roy. Germany and the U.S., he adds, “have made incremental improvements to existing torpedoes, whereas with the F21 we are developing a completely up-to-date product.”