The U.S. Navy is developing the Silent Anvil Air-Launched Torpedo (SAA-LT), a next-generation standoff anti-submarine weapon designed to be launched from carrier-based aircraft and drones, USNI News reports.
According to a Naval Air Systems Command request for information, the system is expected to be roughly the size of a GBU-39 small-diameter bomb, weigh up to 268 pounds, and use the BRU-61/A bomb rack. Its compact design would allow both internal and external carriage and enable storage and handling aboard aircraft carriers.
The Navy wants industry to deliver 180 systems within three years of a contract award, with production reaching at least 60 units annually. The program comes as China expands its nuclear-powered submarine fleet and the U.S. seeks stronger airborne anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Silent Anvil could give U.S. carrier air wings and unmanned aircraft a new, flexible way to engage submarines at standoff ranges, expanding anti-submarine warfare beyond the Navy’s current P-8 Poseidon and Seahawk platforms.
