Malafon (MArine LAtécoère FONds) was a French ship-launched

anti-submarine missile An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon. Often a variant of anti-ship missile designs, an anti-submarine systems typically use a jet or rocket engine, to deliver an explosive warhead aimed directly at a submarine, a depth ch ...

system. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the weapon was intended to take advantage of the greater detection ranges possible with

towed sonar array A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sour ...

s. The missile entered service in 1966 and was manufactured by

Groupe Latécoère The Groupe Latécoère () is an aircraft company based in Toulouse, France. Founded by the aeronautics pioneer Pierre-Georges Latécoère during 1917, the company became well known in its first few decades for its range of seaplanes, such as the s ...

The weapon is essentially a glider-delivered version of the L4 torpedo. The launcher is a circular mount, which allows the weapon to be rotated to the correct bearing, then fired at a fixed elevation of +15°. Two solid booster rockets accelerate it to within 4 seconds before falling away. The unpowered glider continues at an altitude of , altering course in mid-flight under radio control of the launch platform. Effective range was . As it reaches the target, the glider drops the

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, su ...

, which splashes into the sea and commences a circular search pattern. The range of the Malafon meant that it was expected to hit the water within of the submarine's location. The L4 torpedo had a speed of over a range of . The Malafon was a large weapon, with each missile weighing . As a result, it was only employed on larger vessels. It was typically used for medium- and long-range submarine targets, though it could have been used against surface ships. The system was never used at war. It was declared obsolete in 1997. It was replaced by

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led t ...

helicopters using

Mark 46 torpedo The Mark 46 torpedo is the backbone of the United States Navy's lightweight anti-submarine warfare torpedo inventory and is the NATO standard. These aerial torpedo An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo ...

es.

Ships

The Malafon system was fitted to the following ship classes * * T56 (''La Galissonnière'') * * *

Specifications

The missile had a wingspan, with the main body having a diameter. The torpedo had a diameter and could dive to depth.

External links

Harpoondatabase
Anti-submarine missiles Cold War weapons of France Naval weapons of France Military equipment introduced in the 1960s {{missile-stub