French defense and naval contractor Naval Group has delivered a first batch of F21 hnew generation heavyweight torpedoes to the Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) and the French Navy (Marine Nationale). In the French Navy, F21 heavyweight torpedoeswill be known as “Artémis” in the service. Brazilian Navy is the first export customer of the F21, which will be fitted aboard the new Scorpene-class submarines. The F21 will be fitted aboard Le Triomphant-class SSBN and Suffren-class SSN.
F21 is a heavy-weight torpedo developed in France by DCNS for the French Navy. It will replace the F17 Mod 2 heavyweight torpedo that equips the French Navy’s current inventory of submarines. The F21 torpedo is the only new heavy torpedo development in the world. Its characteristics are significantly superior to all other heavy torpedoes currently in service. The F21 heavy torpedo was designed to neutralize enemy ships and submarines. With an exceptional range and speed, the F21 torpedo is planned to evolve by sea bottom but also and especially in the very noisy and very dense coastal areas in maritime traffic.
The F21 has an overall length of 6 m and weighs 1,320 kg. The propulsion system is powered by a silver oxide-aluminium primary battery enabling a maximum speed of more than 50 kt over a maximum range in excess of 50 km. The torpedo is wire-guided initially and then uses acoustic homing. Its electric motor is driven by an aluminum silver-oxide (AgO-Al) battery. The back end of the torpedo is provided by Atlas Elektronik (and is said to come from the SeaHake mod4) which allowed French engineers from the DGA and Naval Group to fully focus their time and budget during the research and development phase on the intelligence, guidance and tracking features of the F21.
