A244-S

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A244-S Torpedo
TypeLightweight torpedo
Place of originItaly
Service history
In service1982
Production history
ManufacturerWASS
Specifications
Weight254 kg
Length2.75 m (9.0 ft)
Diameter324 mm (12.8 in)

Effective firing range13.5 km (7.3 nmi)
Maximum firing range6 km for Mod. 1, 13.5 km for Mod. 3
Fillinghigh explosive STANAG 4439 and MURAT-2 compliant
Filling weightClassified
Detonation
mechanism
various

The A244-s is an Italian lightweight, fire-and-forget torpedo employed for anti-submarine warfare. It can be launched from surface vessels or from aircraft, and locates the target by means of an acoustic seeker.

Description[edit]

The torpedo uses a CIACIO-S seeker, consisting of an acoustic homing head containing the transducer assembly, transmitter and related Beamforming circuits, and a frame housing all the remaining electronic components. The homing head is capable of active, passive or mixed modes for closing onto its target. It can also discriminate between decoys and real targets in the presence of heavy reverberations by specially emitted pulses and signal processing.

The latest version is the A244-S mod.3 torpedo.

The A244/s are developed and manufactured by the Italian WASS (Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei) firm.

Operators[edit]

Map with A244-S operators in blue

Current operators[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Funnell, Clifford (ed.) (February 2007). Jane's Underwater Warfare Systems, 2007-2008 (19th ed.). Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-2815-3.
  • Friedman, Norman (February 2006). The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems (5th ed.). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781557502629.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ The ET52 is the Chinese development of the Italian Alenia A244-S light ASW acoustic homing torpedo, and is considered by many domestic Chinese sources as equivalent of the A244-S Mod.2 version. ET52 is essentially the A244-S torpedo with technologies of US Mk 46 Mod.2 torpedo incorporated.

References[edit]

External links[edit]