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June 20 (UPI) -- The Italian navy will equip its U212A class of submarines with Leonardo's Black Shark Advanced, or BSA, torpedo, increasing the it's anti-submarine warfare capability. The company announced the partnership in a press release Wednesday, emphasizing the torpedo's innovative technology, advanced performance and reduced life cycle costs.
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The BSA is an evolution of the Black Shark heavy-weight torpedo, already in use by Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Portugal and Singapore. The latest version integrates an energy production section that can be optimized for training or operational purposes.
When used for training, a newly developed rechargeable Lithium-Polymers battery is used that allows for up to one hundred more launches than previous versions, which will provide significant cost savings.
Both versions of the Black Shark are multi-target advanced weapons designed to be used from different launching platforms, including submarines, surface units and stations ashore. The munition was designed to oppose the most technologically modern threats, whether for surface or underwater targets.
The BSA is a wire-guided torpedo with a fiber optic wire, and the launching means remains in communication to transmit and receive data.
