US Navy plans 268-pound air-launched torpedo for China-focused anti-submarine warfare

The US Navy is looking to make anti-submarine warfare less dependent on a small number of specialized aircraft by developing a compact torpedo delivery system that could be carried by carrier-based aircraft and unmanned platforms. The effort centers on the Silent Anvil Air-Launched Torpedo (SAA-LT), for which Naval Air Systems Command issued a request for information (RFI) to industry in August. Rather than simply replacing an existing torpedo, the program is aimed at expanding the number and types of aircraft that can participate in long-range submarine hunting. That distinction could become increasingly important in the western Pacific, where China is expanding its submarine force and where large aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon could face increasingly contested operating environments. Why the Navy wants a smaller submarine-hunting weapon Interesting Engineering has explained the basic concept behind Silent Anvil, but the latest RFI reveals a broader operational objective. Putting a standoff anti-submarine weapon on more aircraft. The Navy wants SAA-LT to remain in the roughly 250-pound class, with a maximum weight of 268 pounds, a length of up to 70 inches and a diameter of 7.5 inches. Those dimensions are intended to make the weapon compatible with a much wider range of aircraft and unmanned platforms than larger air-launched systems. The RFI also calls for compatibility with the BRU-61/A weapons rack and both internal and external aircraft carriage. The system is also expected to work with carrier storage and handling equipment. The Navy is considering two approaches. A complete weapon integrating the glide vehicle and torpedo, or an unpowered wing kit capable of carrying a government-furnished anti-submarine weapon. The requirement calls for an end-to-end prototype demonstration within 18 months of an agreement, followed by approximately 180 prototype weapons over three years. China is changing the undersea equation US naval intelligence estimates that China’s submarine force could reach roughly 80 boats by 2035, with about half potentially nuclear-powered. The projection represents a substantial change from China’s historically heavy reliance on conventionally powered submarines. China is also developing new submarine designs. Satellite imagery examined by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in July showed a previously unidentified submarine at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, with analysts suggesting its reduced sail and larger dimensions could indicate a new class. Its propulsion system remains unconfirmed. That larger and increasingly capable undersea force creates a problem for the US Navy: finding submarines is only part of the challenge. The aircraft that detect them must also be able to survive and operate across enormous distances in a contested Indo-Pacific battlespace. USNI News noted that the Navy’s interest in Silent Anvil comes alongside China’s expansion of its nuclear submarine fleet. It also highlighted the potential significance of bringing anti-submarine weapons back to carrier aviation, decades after the retirement of the S-3 Viking. Silent Anvil could spread the ASW mission This is where the compact weapon could become more consequential than its size suggests. The US already has the High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC), which combines a glide kit with the Mark 54 lightweight torpedo. HAAWC allows P-8A Poseidon aircraft to release the weapon from high altitude, but Silent Anvil is being designed to be considerably smaller. A smaller weapon potentially allows the Navy to distribute the attack function across more platforms instead of concentrating it on dedicated maritime patrol aircraft. That could include carrier-based aircraft and drones operating from locations where sending a large patrol aircraft would be difficult or risky. But that does not eliminate the hardest part of anti-submarine warfare which is finding the submarine in the first place. The RFI calls for Silent Anvil to have networked connectivity with tactical command-and-control systems, highlighting the importance of linking the weapon to a wider sensing and targeting network. The system therefore fits into a shift toward separating the platforms that detect a submarine from those that ultimately attack it. The network may be as important as the torpedo That distributed approach also creates a new vulnerability. In a heavily contested Indo-Pacific environment, communications could be disrupted, aircraft could be forced farther from the search area, and the sensors responsible for finding submarines might not be operating from the same platform as the weapon. That makes connectivity between sensors, command networks, aircraft and weapons critical. The result is that Silent Anvil is less interesting as simply a smaller torpedo than as a potential building block for a more distributed US anti-submarine warfare architecture. The Navy’s immediate step is still only market research. Companies have until September 29 to respond to the RFI, with an industry day scheduled for September 17. Any resulting prototype program would still have to demonstrate that the concept works as an integrated system before production follows. If successful, however, Silent Anvil could give the US Navy something increasingly valuable in the western Pacific. More ways to put an anti-submarine weapon into the battlespace without relying entirely on a limited fleet of specialized submarine-hunting aircraft. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Kaif Shaikh is a journalist and writer passionate about turning complex information into clear, impactful stories. His writing covers technology, sustainability, geopolitics, and occasionally fiction. A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, his work has appeared in the Times of India and beyond. After a near-fatal experience, Kaif began seeing both stories and silences differently. Outside work, he juggles far too many projects and passions, but always makes time to read, reflect, and hold onto the thread of wonder.