News Review: Waller first to fire Mk48 CBASS torpedo | ADM Sep 08

The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, has congratulated the crew of HMAS Waller for being the first submarine to successfully fire a new Mk48 Mod7 heavyweight torpedo that has been jointly developed by Australia and the US.

The firing occurred during the RIMPAC 08 exercise off Hawaii between June and July and resulted in the planned sinking of a retired US warship.

“This represents the first new heavyweight torpedo warshot to be fired by either Navy.

"Just as significant is the fact that the warshot torpedo was assembled in Australia,” Fitzgibbon said.

The Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) variant is the latest version of the Mk48 torpedo.

It represents a superior capability against both surface ships and submarines with sonar enhancements that make the torpedo an effective weapon in shallow water and in a counter-measure environment, said Fitzgibbon.

The development of the CBASS torpedo has been achieved under an Armaments Cooperative Program between the US Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

This partnership has established common requirements, interfaces, configurations and maintenance standards enabling any Australian or US submarine to load torpedoes prepared by any Australian or US torpedo maintenance facility.

This submarine partnership has also led to co-development of a new replacement combat system, which is being progressively integrated into USN nuclear submarines and RAN diesel-electric submarines.

This successful live fire exercise underscores the maturity of the joint torpedo and submarine combat system programs for the RAN and USN, Fitzgibbon said: “For Australia in particular, this exercise has been a successful demonstration of the ongoing capability of the Collins Class submarine.”