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TorpedoesIn service
Lightweight ASW torpedo
MU90 Impact is a lightweight ASW torpedo originating in France/Italy. It was built by EuroTorp.
AI-generated illustration · Not a photograph — Whole MU90 Impact exhibition torpedo on its trolley. Preserve the visible nose, body and tail; do not infer hidden contents or create an undocumented live configuration. Exterior details are illustrative. Not evidence for specifications.
ForceTally · AI-generated illustration · Not a photograph · AI-generated · OpenAI output terms · Source ↗ · ModifiedLightweight ASW torpedo
France/Italy
See Operators
EuroTorp
€1.6m (~US$2.1m) (FY2012)
>1000
MU90 Hard Kill
304 kg (670 lb)
2.85 m (112 in)
323.7 mm (12.74 in)
PBX shaped charge warhead
32.7 kg
Pump-jet Electric
>10 km (5.4 nmi) (max speed) >23 km (12 nmi) (min speed)
>1000 m
29 kn (54 km/h) to well over 50 kn (93 km/h)
Active or passive acoustic homing
Surface ships aircraft
The MU90 Impact is a Franco-Italian advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the third generation developed for the French and Italian navies, as well as for export.
The MU90 Impact is a Franco-Italian advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the third generation developed for the French and Italian navies, as well as for export. It is designed to outperform the United States-built Mark 54 in the anti-submarine role and was developed in a special MU90 Hard Kill version for anti-torpedo defence. It is built by EuroTorp , a consortium of French and Italian companies.
France intended to use the new torpedo on its frigates, Atlantique 2 aircraft, Lynx helicopters and NFH90 helicopters. It originally wanted 1000 units, but the end of the Cold War saw this cut to 600 in 1991, 450 in 2000 and finally 300 in 2008. The project cost the government €1,150m in 2012 prices at a unit cost of €1.6m, or €3.8m including development costs. It received 25 torpedoes a year until 2014.
The MU90 is designed to be capable of discriminating between actual and perceived threat, including a bottomed stationary mini-submarine, known versions of anechoic coatings , and various decoys. It is also capable of launch speeds up to 400 knots (740 km/h; 460 mph) , allowing it to be dropped from maritime patrol aircraft flying at high speeds, or rocket-assist launchers. Powered by an electric pump-jet , it can be run at "silent" speeds to avoid giving its location away to the submarine, or "dash" at speeds over 29 knots. It uses a shaped charge warhead that can penetrate any known submarine hull, in particular Soviet double hull designs, while remaining just as deadly in shallow waters where conventional warheads are less effective.
In 1986 France and Italy began a collaboration to develop an anti-submarine missile based on the Italian Otomat missile. France dropped out of the programme but Italy has fitted the MBDA MILAS missile to its Durand de la Penne -class destroyers and FREMM anti-submarine frigates. MILAS is an 800 kg (1,800 lb) missile that can deliver a MU90 to 35 kilometres (19 nmi).
After deciding that its Mark 46 torpedoes were inadequate, Australia set up the JP2070 project in 1998 to buy torpedoes for its Adelaide -class frigates , Anzac -class frigates , AP-3C Orion aircraft, S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopters and planned SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopters. The Seasprites were cancelled and the Orions and Seahawks were removed from the MU90 programme on budget grounds; their replacements, the P-8 Poseidon and MH-60R Seahawk will use the US Mark 54 torpedo . The A$639m project to buy a classified number of MU90 has been heavily criticised by the Australian National Audit Office on the grounds of cost, insufficient test firings which failed to reveal defects in the torpedo, and the lack of commonality with the Navy's air-launched torpedoes. The MU90 reached IOC in November 2012.
Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite Mil Mi-14PŁ
MU90 Impact France Italy Lightweight torpedo ( anti-submarine ) Sachsen class ( Type F124 ) —
MU90 Impact France Italy Lightweight torpedo ( anti-submarine ) 323.7 mm (12.74 in) Westland Sea Lynx Mk 88A — Torpedo to be used in the future with the 31 NH90 NFH "Sea Tiger" , the successor of the Sea Lynx.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
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Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept 2026 | 0.3237 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
MU90 Impact equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
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