Description
The A244 was initially conceived at Whitehead Alenia in 1968 as a replacement for the USN Mark 44 Mod 2 and shares many design similarities with the older weapon. A244 entered service in 1971 although development continued through 1973, and mass production began in 1975. The weapon was superseded by A244/S which entered service in 1984. Whereas the A244 used a monotone (single frequency) seeker, the A244/S uses triple frequency pulses and a programmable seeker which can follow search patterns and perform standard maneuvers. Originally equipped with a Selenia Elsag AG70 seeker, work on CIACIO began in 1964, resulting in a 60 kHz CIACIO 60 seeker in 1966 and a 30 kHz CIACIO 30 seeker in 1968. The final version, CIACIO-S, originally appeared in 1972 with laboratory trials in 1973 and static sea trials in 1974, followed by live trials using Mark 44 torpedoes equipped with the new seeker in 1975. Shallow water trials were carried out in 1977-1978. A244/S Mod 1 was ready for delivery in 1987. [1] Mod 0 (intended for torpedo tube launch) and Mod 1 (intended for helicopter launch) had an endurance of 6,500 m (3.5 nmi) at 37 kn (69 km/h), a length of 2.70 m (8.9 ft), and a unit mass of 221 kg (487 lb). Mod 2 (intended for fixed-wing aircraft launch) had a length of 2.75 m (9.0 ft) and an endurance of 6,000 m (3.2 nmi). All of the older versions used a lead-acid battery power source and carried a 45.4 kg (100 lb) warhead. [2]
The present-day version is the A244/S Mod 3, manufactured by Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa. [3] The A244/S Mod 3 was announced in October 1998. [4] The Mod 3 was engineered by retrofitting the MU90 torpedo, particularly its guidance system. The power source was re-engineered to use a silver oxide battery. The Mod 3 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 seeker head contains 36 transducers in an 6x6 array, capable of generating eight acoustic beams. The homing head is capable of active, passive, and mixed modes for closing onto its target. It can also discriminate between decoys and real targets in the presence of heavy reverberations especially emitted pulses and signal processing. Signal processing is digital, utilizing FFT. [5]
A new A244/S Mod 4 variant has been developed, available both as a newly produced torpedo or as an upgrade kit for existing Mod 3 weapons; the Mod 4 has enhanced performance (higher top speed and improved endurance) and increased maneuvrability thanks to the redesigned tail controls with 4 independent rudders (similarly to the MU90 Impact). In 2021 WASS announced the A244/S Mod 4 torpedo had been selected by an undisclosed launch customer, and as of 2025 the company claims the type has been ordered by two unspecified operators in Asia. [6] [7]
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