Northrop Grumman was showcasing a prototype of the Very Mild Weight Torpedo (VLWT) for the very first time in public, in the course of the Sea Air House 2021 exposition close to Washington DC. Northrop Grumman has efficiently manufactured and examined the primary industry-built Very Light-weight Torpedo (VLWT) for the U.S. Navy. The prototype torpedo relies on the Pennsylvania State College Utilized Analysis Laboratory’s (PSU-ARL) design that was distributed to protection industrial producers in 2016. Northrop Grumman will provide the design-for-affordability enhancements to this VLWT as Northrop Grumman’s response for the U.S. Navy’s Compact Speedy Assault Weapon program.
Making use of its engineering and manufacturing experience, Northrop Grumman improved upon the VLWT baseline design to exchange high-cost parts and drive total affordability, reproducibility and reliability. The profitable testing of the torpedo nostril on the primary strive is a testomony to Northrop Grumman’s design-for-affordability strategy. These altered sections had been constructed and examined utilizing PSU-ARL’s personal check gear for confidence. Northrop Grumman assembled the prototype VLWT utilizing a Saved Chemical Vitality Propulsion System (SCEPS) manufactured by teammate Barber-Nichols, Inc., (BNI) of Denver, Colorado. Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing plan would span the nation by constructing parts in California, Utah, Minnesota, Colorado, West Virginia and Maryland.
Commercial
Northrop Grumman‘s torpedo design and manufacturing legacy reaches again over 80 years to World Battle II by way of its Westinghouse acquisition. In 1943, Westinghouse received the Navy contract to reverse engineer a captured German electrical torpedo and in 12 months started producing the MK18 electrical torpedo, which turned the tide of the undersea warfare within the Pacific. Northrop Grumman has been on the forefront of torpedo design and manufacturing ever since, to incorporate the present MK48 Frequent Broadband Superior Sonar System (CBASS) heavyweight torpedo and MK50 Light-weight Torpedo. At present, Northrop Grumman is the one firm in full charge manufacturing of MK54 and MK48 torpedo nostril arrays and has delivered over 600 MK54 arrays and over 70 MK48 arrays to the U.S. Navy.
