The two navies will get the latest advanced torpedoes and countermeasures to bolster their resilience.

Germany and Norway are selecting the Black Shark Advanced heavy-weight torpedo from Italian company WASS Submarine Systems (part of Fincantieri) for their joint, Type 212CD (common development) submarine programme.

The torpedo, along with the DM2A5 currently under development, will bolster the resilience of both navies by providing them with a variety of weapon choices, Captain Bernd Weis, Coordinator of German-Norwegian Naval Defence Materiel Cooperation told UDT 2025 in Oslo.

Germany and Norway are jointly acquiring Type 212CD submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Germany currently has six Type 212CD submarines on order, while Norway has four. Additional boats might be procured for the Norwegian navy pending parliamentary approval.

Aside from the torpedoes, the navies are interested in being part of the Spanish navy’s “sub-launched naval strike missile [NSM]” project, which the country is currently working on, Captain Weis said.

Navantia, a Spanish shipbuilding company, is undertaking a technical study to integrate the NSM into the Spanish navy’s S-80 series submarines.

Besides the effectors, the Type 212CD submarines will integrate the SeaSpider Anti-Torpedo-Torpedo from Atlas Elektronik, Captain Weis said.

The SeaSpider is “the world’s first dedicated Anti-Torpedo-Torpedo, designed without compromise to be an effective and affordable solution to counter the threat to ships and submarines”, the company states.

This article has been updated with new information since publication. 

Author - Olivia Savage, Editor in Chief of Clarion Defence