Russia occupies one of the first places in the world for the export of arms and military equipment. An important part of defense exports is the construction of ships and submarines for the naval forces of third countries. In addition, the customers of Russian ships and submarines acquire appropriate weapons: missiles, torpedoes, etc. To date, the market for naval weapons, including torpedoes, is in a rather difficult situation. The market has already been divided by the main players, but some new manufacturers are trying to take back their share from them. At the same time, Russian enterprises still hold leading positions.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the domestic torpedo industry found itself in a very difficult situation. Both ready-made torpedoes and some of their units were produced by factories that remained in the newly independent states. For example, the Fizpribory plant (now TNK Dastan) remained in Kyrgyzstan, and the Machine-Building Plant named after Kirov came under the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan. All this could lead to the disruption of the worked out production ties with negative consequences for the creation and production of weapons. Nevertheless, defense enterprises in Russia and the CIS countries were forced to come to terms with the collapse of the common country and get used to the new environment.
Having found themselves in a difficult situation, the enterprises of the defense industry did not stop their activities. Some organizations focused their efforts on creating new projects, which resulted in the emergence of a number of promising developments that could be of interest to both domestic and foreign customers. In the nineties and two thousand years, a large number of new torpedoes were developed, including those that were a deep modernization of existing weapons, some of which reached mass production.
Loading a 53-65K torpedo onto a submarine. Photo Flot.sevastopol.info
For example, the St. Petersburg Central Research Institute "Gidropribor" continued work on previously frozen projects, which resulted in the appearance of five new torpedoes. Products TT-1, TE-2, TT-3, TT-4 and TT-5 with thermal (TT) and electric (TE) power plants differed in caliber and other dimensions, warhead weight, etc. So, the TT-4 torpedo was small-sized and had a caliber of 324 mm, and the largest product of the family was the 650-mm TT-5. However, not all new projects have been developed. For example, the small-sized TT-4 has not been mentioned in official sources since the end of the last decade. Instead, the corresponding niche is occupied by the UMGT-ME product.
The Dvigatel plant (St. Petersburg), which has now become a subdivision of Gidropribor in the nineties, independently modernized the serial torpedoes TEST-71M and SET-65. Due to the use of some new components, it was possible to improve the characteristics of this weapon to a certain extent.
GNPP "Region", now part of the Concern "Tactical Missile Armament", continued the development of aviation torpedoes of several types. So, on the basis of the APR-2E product, the APR-2ME torpedo appeared, capable of operating at shallow depths. Products APR-3E and APR-3ME, due to some innovations, received higher characteristics in comparison with "twos".
In 2001, the heads of the enterprises "Region", "Dagdizel" and the Research Institute of Marine Engineering decided to launch the joint research work "Malyshka". As part of this initiative project, it was planned to develop a new small-sized torpedo, which received the MTT index. Later, a preliminary version of the project was developed, which received approval and became the reason for the start of several new research and development and development projects. A peculiar point was the inclusion of the MTT torpedo in the list of weapons allowed for export. This event took place at the very beginning of September 2003.
It should be noted that almost all of the mentioned projects were modernization of existing ones. This was due to the peculiarities of the current situation, as well as the specifics of the market. In addition, some existing projects became the basis for several new ones. So, the already mentioned TE-2 torpedo was an export modification of the USET-80 product. In addition, it is known that on the basis of the TE-2, the UETT torpedo was later created, which differed from it in some features of the onboard equipment.
The current decade can be considered positive for the international torpedo weapons market. There is a gradual increase in the total volume of deliveries of torpedoes produced in different countries. In addition, new developments in this area regularly appear at international exhibitions. At the same time, Russian enterprises, despite some problems of the past decades, have a good position in the market, confidently leading in the number of supplied weapons.
According to available data, from 2010 to 2014, the Russian defense industry manufactured and handed over to customers 250 torpedoes of several types. The second place in terms of deliveries is taken by the Italian company WASS, which supplied 60 torpedoes. The volume of production of export torpedoes in the United States did not exceed 40 units. Three dozen torpedoes were supplied by German enterprises.
The order book of Russian enterprises also looks solid. As of the beginning of this year, Russia was to supply 70 more torpedoes to its customers. The US portfolio, in turn, contains two orders with a total volume of slightly less than a hundred torpedoes. However, only 48 torpedoes from Turkey should be expected to be delivered. Taiwan's order for 50 weapons has not been fulfilled for a long time due to the difficult situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the beginning of the period under review, an order from Algeria became a good impetus for Russia to come out on top among the exporters of torpedoes. In accordance with this contract, several Russian enterprises in 2010 handed over to the customer 40 TEST-71ME-NK torpedoes and the same number of 53-65K products.
Also, 80 torpedoes were sent to India. The Indian order implied the supply of four dozen torpedoes of two types: UGST and TE-2. Vietnam has become another large customer, which is to receive 160 torpedoes of several types within a few years. Until the end of last year, the Vietnamese fleet received 45 TE-2 and 53-65K torpedoes each. In addition, the existing contract provides for the supply of 50 3M-54E anti-ship missiles, slightly more than half of which were manufactured by the beginning of this year.
Currently, there is a curious situation on the torpedo armament market. Most major torpedo exporters are cutting production due to the lack of major contracts. At the same time, Russia and the United States are increasing production, fulfilling more and more new orders. Probably, this situation will persist for the next several years, after which it will begin to change.
Alarming news for producers in recent years has come from Southeast Asia. According to the latest reports, China has received several notable orders for the construction of submarines for third countries. It is possible that these submarines will be armed with Chinese-made torpedoes. As a result, a third major player may appear on the market. Because of this, the positions of Russian manufacturers may stagger or remain at the same level without noticeable hesitation. The same prediction can be made for US torpedo contracts. Finally, third countries that do not have large contracts can be almost completely squeezed out of the market.
However, the details of future Chinese contracts, if any, are still unknown. The market leaders are still Russia and the United States, and the further development of the situation may be the subject of serious disputes. One way or another, a solid market share is not a reason to “rest on our laurels”. The development of torpedo armament should be continued in order to maintain or improve its position on the market.
