“While the MU90 Lightweight Torpedo has been successfully tested in Europe, this Acceptance Test and Evaluation exercise represents the first time an MU90 Lightweight Torpedo has been fired from an Australian warship,” Mr Fitzgibbon said. 

Mr Fitzgibbon said the test firing from HMAS TOOWOOMBA at sea in the Western Australian Exercise Area approximately 30 kilometres off Mandurah in Western Australia was a milestone for the DMO’s Joint Project 2070, Project Djimindi – Replacement Lightweight ASW Torpedo.

“The new MU90 Lightweight Torpedo will provide a significant upgrade to the Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities of the surface combatant platforms of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), including the RAN’s FFG and ANZAC frigates,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

The MU90 Lightweight Torpedo is being acquired in a three-phase program worth $616 million at January 2008 prices.  Defence selected the Eurotorp MU90/Impact torpedo in 1999 after a competitive tender.

The MU90 Lightweight ASW Torpedo is 3 metres long, weighs 300 kilograms, has a range of greater than 10 kilometres and is designed to track and attack quiet-running submarines at depths to more than 1,000 metres.