The Black Shark is an advanced, long-range, heavy weight torpedo developed by Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei for the Italian Navy. It has a length of 6.3 meters, diameter of 533 mm, and effective firing range of 50 km. The torpedo uses an electrical propulsion system powered by a silver oxide and aluminum battery and is equipped with acoustic and fiber optic sensors for multi-target homing guidance.

1. Advanced Heavy Weight Torpedo
BLACK SHARK, ITALY

3. INTRODUCTION
• Black Shark is an advanced, long-range, multi-purpose, heavy weight torpedo designed and
developed by Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) in cooperation with the Italian Navy.
• The wire-guided heavy weight torpedo, designed for a life of more than 20 years, can be
deployed to defend any surface or underwater targets and can be launched from submarines,
surface vessels or land stations.
• The Black Shark torpedo was successfully test fired from the Type U212 submarine Scire in
push-out mode in the La Spezia gulf in January 2014.

4. DESIGN
• The next-generation, fully stealth Black Shark heavy weight torpedo is designed to operate in
deep and coastal waters, and can be launched in push out and swim out modes at any
operational depth of a submarine.
• The torpedo has a length of 6,300mm and diameter of 533.4mm, and can be integrated with
any submarine using compact Torpedo Board Interface (TBI) solutions.
• It can detect targets at a very long range and is capable of engaging multiple targets
simultaneously. It is equipped with the sophisticated Acoustic Counter-Counter-Measures
(ACCM) capability.

6. SENSORS
• The Black Shark torpedo is equipped with multiple wake sensors for the detection and
classification of targets. The sensor systems incorporate a fully digital beam-forming signal and
data processing technique.
• A state-of-the-art Advanced Sonar Transmitting and Receiving Architecture (ASTRA) active and
passive acoustic head is fitted to provide multi-target homing guidance capabilities.
• The torpedo is firtjer fitted with a fibre optic wire guidance communication link that provides
advanced communication capabilities. Black Shark can also be equipped with an audio
channel.

7. PROPULSION
• The Black Shark heavy weight torpedo is powered by an electrical propulsion system,
which is based on a silver oxide and aluminium (Al-AgO) battery.
• Developed by Saft, the AgO-Al batteries are provided with high energy density and high
electrolyte conductivity offering maximum safety and storage life of up to 12 years.
• The system delivers twice the power and energy of a standard zinc / silver oxide (Ag-Zn)
battery.

9. SPECIFICATIONS
 Length : 6.3 m (21 ft)
 Diameter: 533 mm (21.0 in)
 Effective firing range: 50 km (27 nmi)
 Warhead: high explosive STANAG 4439 and MURAT-2 compliant
 Warhead weight: Classified
 Engine: contra-rotating direct-drive brushless motor
 Propellant: Al-AgO battery
 Speed: 50 kt

10. REFERENCES
• http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/black-shark-advanced-heavy-weight-torpedo/
• http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/black-shark-advanced-heavy-weight-torpedo/black-
shark-advanced-heavy-weight-torpedo1.html
• http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/black-shark-advanced-heavy-weight-torpedo/black-
shark-advanced-heavy-weight-torpedo2.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Shark_torpedo

11. THANK YOU