WASS Launches Subsidiary In India For Underwater Systems

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WASS Launches Subsidiary In India For Underwater Systems​

Finmeccanica is launching a subsidiary to cater to the Indian Navy’s blue-water desires.

The company’s Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) subsidiary has launched its own, first-ever subsidiary, WIN (WASS India), to offer service support, monitoring of the supply chain and to enter into industrial partnerships.

“The Indian defense market is growing and we foresee only indigenous tenders in the future. We, therefore, found the need to have an Indian company,” says WIN Director Giuliano Enea. “We have identified technologies that are available in India that we need to exploit for WASS.”

The company is looking at joint ventures for various domains it works with and is in talks with numerous companies, including Larsen & Toubro.

Still, the cost of investment cannot be recovered only within India, so the company is looking to leverage a geographical advantage for sales to the Middle East and Far East. “We hope to make India the primary source,” says Enea.

WASS has a long association with the Indian military through supply of lightweight torpedoes and submarine-fired decoys. The company received a contract this year from the Indian Navy for upgrades and life extension of 128 A244-S lightweight torpedo systems to Mod 3, explains Enea.

WASS is offering the heavyweight Black Shark torpedo, which has already been successfully integrated on board other subs, in India with different types of combat systems. It features the new Astra acoustic head and a long-endurance, silent-electric propulsion system. “Black Shark, for us, is our main product,” Enea says.

WASS has been partnering with Bharat Dynamics Ltd. for production of the C303, an anti-torpedo countermeasures system since 2005 that is already half indigenized to Indian industry. Next will be for the Scorpene submarines given to BDL by the defense ministry, which WIN says will be 70% indigenized.

The C303 is an anti-torpedo countermeasures system designed to counter attacks of acoustic homing torpedoes – active/passive, lightweight and heavyweight, wire and non-wire-guided – through the use of expendable, low-cost, lightweight, high-performance stationary jammers and mobile decoys.

Since the Mumbai terrorist attacks two years ago, more attention has been given to underwater surveillance systems to boost maritime defenses against terrorists around sensitive targets like harbors and oil rigs. WASS hopes to sell its complete family of lightweight, hull-mounted and variable-depth sonar systems, optimized for mines and objects avoidance, the SNA 2000/I. The sonar features high frequency of operation and very low target strength (small stationary objects) detection capability, and can be installed either in the bow dome of large ships, together with the main sonar or stand alone, or under the keel of Fast Attack Crafts or patrol boats, as a navigational aid.


WASS Launches Subsidiary In India For Underwater Systems | AVIATION WEEK

 

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C303

WASS

Anti-Torpedo Countermeasures System for Submarine

The C303/S is an anti-torpedo countermeasures system designed to counter attacks of acoustic homing torpedoes, active/passive, lightweight and heavyweight, wire and non wire-guided, through the use of expendable low-cost, light-weight, high-performance stationary jammers and mobile decoys.

The submarine deploys such devices during the course of computerised pre-determined evasive counter-manoeuvres, to maximise the submarine survivability against modern torpedo attack.

 

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BLACK-SHARK

Advanced Dual Purpose Wire Guided Torpedo

The BLACK-SHARK Heavy Weight Torpedo is a multipurpose weapon designed to be launched by surface vessels or submarines. It is meant to counter the threat posed by any type of surface or underwater target. The BLACK-SHARK is a new generation of powerful, long-range, wire guided and self- homing heavyweight torpedoes (21-inch diameter).

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS


- Dual purpose antisubmarine/antiship torpedo

- Adaptability to a large variety of discharge systems: push-out/swim-out launch

- Optimised for deep and shallow water operation

- Fully digital signal and data processing

- Detection capability on low TS targets

- ACCM capability

- Acoustic head shape designed to reduce flow-noise

- Very low radiated noise

- Electrical propulsion system with high endurance battery

- High speed with continuous electronic control

- Possibility to simultaneously manage several targets

- Length: 6300 mm

- Fibre optic wire guidance communication link

- lntegrability with all modern Torpedo Fire Control Systems, assured by compatibility with STANAG 4405

- Simple to interface with ship sensors and computing units

- Actual tactical situation permanently available for threat assessment and target selection

- Highly accurate reconstruction of target and torpedo position for maximization of hitting probability

ADVANCED ACOUSTIC HOMING


ASTRA (Advanced Sonar Transmitting and Receiving Architecture) is an active and passive acoustic head for modern torpedoes and represents the latest effort made by Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei.

It is possible to use the torpedo acoustic head as an additional sensor to the submarine combat suite.

The main signal and data processing is based on the following criteria:
- Spatial filtering

- Frequency filtering

- Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR)processing

- Echo elongation analysis

- Echo angular extension analysis

- Echo spatial coherence analysis

- DEMON analysis

- Medium and high frequency operation in passive mode

- Multi-frequency capability

ELECTRICAL PROPULSION SYSTEM


This consists of a new design Al-AgO battery with a very high-energy content, contra-rotating motor and skewed direct-drive propellers, assuring a minimum radiated noise and wakeless run, minimizing the torpedo detectability.

An alternative Ag-Zn battery system is available without changing any other propulsion component.

WAKE HOMING CAPABILITY


- Availability of wake detection and classification

- Target tracking

- Optimized homing trajectory

SUBMARINE SYSTEM


- Launch performed at any operational depth of the submarine

- Presence of the launching submarine is not disclosed (start-up at low speed, cavitation free)

- Continuous monitoring of torpedo status in submarine tubes

- Availability of compact solutions for integration on existing platforms

SURFACE VESSEL SYSTEM


- Unique anti-vibration design

- Short reaction time

- No manoeuvre restrictions for the launching ship

POWERFUL EXPLOSIVE CHARGE


- Lethal for surface vessels and submarines, activated by both acoustic influence and impact fuses

- Safety and reliability verified in any operational phase

Warhead proven against real targets

 

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India's Scorpene's will be armed with WASS's Black Shark heavy wire guided torpedos.