Turkey launches development of new 324mm Lightweight Torpedo for Turkish Navy

According to information released on the SSB Twitter account, December 27, 2020, Turkey has launched the development of a new 324 mm Lightweight Torpedo (LWT) for the Turkish navy. The new torpedo will be designed and produced by the Turkish company Roketsan under the Orka program.
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Artist rendering of new 324 mm Lightweight Torpedo of Turkish program Orka. (Picture source Roketsan video)

The Turkish companies Roketsan and Aselsan will be the main contractors for the development of ORKA torpedo program. The new 324 mm will be used against submarines and can be launched from a surface vessel or naval aircraft.

The ORKA will be equipped with high precision guidance and navigation systems, advanced search and attack capabilities, providing high efficiency and accuracy on target, and resistance against jamming.

According to the Turkish defense association SSB, it is planned that the first Orka torpedo will be delivered next year.

In 1999, the United States started the development of the Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo, a standard 12.75-inch (324 mm) anti-submarine warfare (ASW) torpedo manufactured by the American company Raytheon and used by the United States Navy.

The Mark 54 torpedo can be deployed from a surface ship, helicopter or fixed wing aircraft to track, classify and attack underwater targets. It uses sophisticated processing algorithms to analyze the information, edit out false targets or countermeasures, and then pursue identified threats.

Other international defense companies as Leonardo from Italy and SAAB from Sweden have already developed lightweight torpedo used to conduct anti-submarine warfare.