Mark 54 LHT

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The Mark 54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo (LHT) is a standard 12.75 inch (324 mm) antisubmarine warfare (ASW) torpedo used by the US Navy.

[edit] Development

The Mark 54 was co-developed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and the US Navy under the US Navy's Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo program in response to perceived problems with the extant Mark 50 and Mark 46 torpedoes.

The Mk 50, having been developed to counter very high performance nuclear submarines such as the Soviet Alfa class, was seen as too expensive to use against relatively slow conventional submarines.

The older Mk 46, designed for open-ocean use, performed poorly in the littoral areas the Navy envisioned itself likely to operate in the future.

The Mk 54 was created by combining the homing and warhead portions of the Mk 50 and the propulsion unit of the Mk 46, improved for better performance in shallow water, and with the addition of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to further reduce costs.

Developmental testing began in July, 1999, and a successful critical design review was completed in November, 1999.

In April 2003, Raytheon was awarded a sole source contract for the production of the Mk 54. Full rate production began in October, 2004.

The Mk 54 can be fired from surface ships via the Mark 32 surface vessel torpedo tubes or the vertical launch anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) systems, and also from most ASW aircraft.