The F21 is a heavy-weight

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

developed by DCNS for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

to replace the

F17 torpedo The DTCN F17 was a wire-guided anti-surface ship torpedo originally produced in 1971. France, Spain, and Saudi Arabia were its primary users. As of 2021, there were still used on Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے ...

. It is designed to neutralize enemy ships and submarines and capable of operating in deep waters and near coastal areas with high levels of noise and dense shipping.
Source DCNS, , 2017-06-22 It is planned to gradually equip all French submarines, starting in 2018. The contract includes the development and delivery of about one hundred F21 torpedoes and their integration into French submarines. New torpedo planned for French navy passes qualification firing
Richard Tomkins,

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

, 2017-04-23 Naval Group delivered a batch of six torpedoes to the French Navy in November 2019. It has also been selected for the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= " Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship '' Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibio ...

with the first batch handed over in January 2020.

Characteristics

History

Concept

The F21 was to be a development version of the Italian

Black Shark torpedo The Black Shark is a heavyweight torpedo developed by WASS of Italy. Development Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei Italy developed the Black Shark torpedo as an evolution of the A184, with more advanced ECCM abilities and sonar. The advancem ...

. In 2008 France signed a development contract for 93 heavy torpedoes for its nuclear submarines, to be delivered from 2015. The original plan called for a derivative of the Black Shark to be built by a joint venture between DCNS, Thales and WASS, but they fell out and DCNS will now be developing the F21 Artemis with Thales and Atlas Electronic. The F21 shares similarities with the Black Shark, including an electric motor driven by an aluminum silver-oxide (AgO-Al) battery. and a contra-rotating propeller It has a warhead of PBX B2211, range of and speed of . the project has a €485m budget with a unit cost of €2.3m (FY12), or €5.2m including development costs.

Qualification

The F21 was first tested on DCNS's ''Pégase'' catamaran in February 2013 and a submarine launch was planned for 2014, with production deliveries scheduled to start in late 2015. Qualification testing began in 2016, and were completed in June 2017 off the coast of Var.

References

{{reflist Torpedoes Naval weapons of France

Characteristics

History

Concept

Qualification

See also

References