Logo with the letters 'Navy Leaders' in bold white font on a transparent background, with a short red horizontal line beneath it.

BAE Systems Wins Royal Navy Torpedo Deal

A Stingray Training Variant Torpedo being fired from Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster during an Indian Ocean exercise.
A Stingray Training Variant Torpedo being fired from Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster during an Indian Ocean exercise. Image: Ministry of Defence © Crown copyright 2014. Creator: LA(Phot) Dan Rosenbaum
06/08/2026

BAE Systems has won a £125 million contract to maintain and repair the U.K. Royal Navy’s inventory of light and heavyweight torpedoes.

The Torpedo Repair and Maintenance (TRAM) contract will run into 2029 and will involve the firm’s facilities in Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Chelmsford. Workers there will be ensuring the Spearfish and Sting Ray weapons deployed on the fleet’s ships, aircraft and submarines continue to operate correctly.

The lightweight Sting Ray torpedo is primarily designed as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon suitable for use either in blue-water open ocean scenarios or in littoral environments.

Often fired from a surface vessel such as frigates via a Torpedo Launcher System, Sting Rays can also be deployed from helicopters and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. They are 2.6 metres long, have a range in excess of 7 miles, and carry a 45kg shaped-charge warhead.

The larger heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes, by contrast, are 7m long, carry a 300kg high-explosive warhead, and have a range of over 30 miles. Used for ASW and also against surface ships, they are fired from the RN’s Astute- and Vanguard-class submarines.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard revealed: “The contract bridges to a longer-term programme, Whitehead2, which will deliver a modernised torpedo support solution from 2029 onwards, keeping the Royal Navy ahead of future threats.”

The RN’s Director Naval Acquisition Rear Admiral Matt Stratton commented: “This contract extension ensures the Royal Navy retains a safe, reliable and continuous torpedo support capability. It is a critical enabler of our operational readiness and directly supports the UK’s Continuous At Sea Deterrent.”

And MD for Maritime and Land Defence Solutions at BAE Systems Scott Jamieson, added: “Since 2019 we have delivered consistently high levels of torpedo availability for the U.K. Armed Forces, supporting both the successful entry into service of Spearfish and the ongoing operational readiness of Sting Ray.”

Navy News