The French Délégation Générale pour l’Armement du Ministére de la Défense accepted its first batch of 25, out of 300, MU90 Block1 Light Weight Torpedoes (LWT) manufactured by Eurotorp consortium between WASS, DCNS and Thales. As a consequence, the MU90 is entering into service with the French Armed Forces.
The MU90 torpedoes will be installed aboard the Georges Leygues-class F70 ASW frigates, as well as on board the Lynx and ATL2 MPA rotary and fixed-wing air platforms. The MU90 will become the standard fit for the Horizon air defence destroyers, the NH90 NFH helicopters and the new FREMM (Frégates Européennes Multi Missions) frigates. The MU90 has become the advanced light weight torpedo of choice for the French Navy.
The MU90 program is the result of the strong desire ofthe French and Italian Navies to merge their domestic developments (i.e. Murene and A290). The MU90 project could not have been successful without the French and Italian political will of unifying their operational requirements, sharing the development costs and deploying their top respective experts to the project. The success of the MU90 program confirms European technology and industry as a global leader in the anti-submarine weapon systems segment.
The MU90 is a NATO interoperable, fire-and-forget, light weight torpedo designed to counter any type of submarine posing a conventional or nuclear threat. The MU90 features outstanding effectiveness in coastal and littoral environments, as well as unmatched firing ranges and deployment altitudes, providing unprecedented stand-off operational capabilities for the defenders. The intrinsic dynamic and acoustic capabilities of the MU90 render the weapon suitable for multi-role applications such as the anti-torpedo torpedo role, for which the MU90 HK will represent the most effective and credible solution.
With more than 1000 torpedoes already produced, the MU90 is enjoying remarkable success on the export market.
Having fought off fierce competition from the American Mk54 mod0 torpedo, the MU90 has won the interest of the German, Danish, Polish and Australian Armed forces.
Already fitted onboard several classes of surface and air platforms, the MU90 LWT is today recognized as the most effective LWT in existance, compared to even the US Mk54 mod0 and the future UK STING-RAY mod1.
The procurement of the MU90 torpedo system is presently under evaluation by a number of NATO and non-NATO Navies.