Taiwan requests approval for advanced ASW torpedos

Sea Power, Dec 1998

The Republic of China Navy (ROCN) of Taiwan has made a request through its Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States to purchase 131 Mk46 Mod 5(A)S antisubmarine torpedoes, at a cost of $69 million. The prime contractor will be Hughes Missile System Company (now part of Raytheon) in Mukilteo, Wash.

The torpedoes requested are airdropped versions, equipped with retarding parachutes, and are intended for use on the ten S-70C(M)I Thunderhawk antisubmarine helicopters operated by the ROCN from its Cheng Kung-class (Oliver Hazard Perry-type) and Kang Ting-class (La Fayette-type) frigates.

The ROCN already has a large number of Mk46 torpedoes in service, including air-dropped versions, but the Mod 5(A)S incorporates improvements that enable it to attack targets operating in very shallow waters, such as those characteristic of the Taiwan Straits.

Earlier versions of the torpedo such as the Mk46 Mod 2 could not attack targets in such shallow depths. During the Falklands War, a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter used a Mk46 Mod 2 to attack the surfaced Argentine submarine Santa Fe, but the 50-foot "ceiling" prevented the torpedo from making a successful attack.