Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (Försvarets materielverk – FMV) has outlined its future torpedo capability roadmap, including a leaning towards the development of a next-generation electrically-powered heavyweight weapon – known as Torpedo 63 – derived from the new Torpedo 47 lightweight.
Speaking at Navy Leaders’ Navy Tech 2025 conference in Helsinki on 12 February, FMV’s product manager torpedo systems Anders Svensson said that the investment case for Torpedo 63 was being weighed against further development of the current thermal-powered Torpedo 62 weapon.
Sweden – through the partnership of FMV, Saab, the Swedish Defence Research Agency and the Swedish Armed Forces – maintains an indigenous capability for the design, development, production and support of underwater weapons. This reflects both the desire to maintain sovereign technical and industrial resource, and the need to develop weapons optimised for the complex operating environment of the Baltic and the Swedish archipelago.
The Royal Swedish Navy is currently in the process of replacing the ageing Torpedo 45 lightweight with the
new Torpedo 47. The latter is a new 400 mm diameter weapon using a rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate battery for both exercise and warshot use, and the adoption of a pumpjet propulsor in place of the contra-rotating propellers used in Torpedo 45. Other features of the new weapon include the MS4 active/passive digital homing head for detection, classification and tracking of targets; two-way data communications with the launch platform via a wire link; a high accuracy navigation system; and a wide stepless speed range.
Saab began deliveries of Torpedo 47 in late 2022, with the system becoming operational the following year. The weapon is being fielded in both submarines and Visby class corvettes (being launched from a new M/20 tube launcher in the latter). Further procurements of torpedoes and tubes are planned for the new Luleå-class surface combatants, and work is also underway to explore the integration of Torpedo 47 in ‘non-traditional’ (likely uncrewed) platforms.
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