Today's navies need torpedoes that are both easy to control and highly adaptable for the toughest maritime environment, including ocean areas with high water salinity and cold and warm temperatures, as well as harsh hydro-acoustic conditions. The two main categories of torpedo weapons - heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes - are wire-/fibre-optic-guided or fully autonomous systems fielded by a plethora of platforms: nuclear-powered and conventional, diesel-electric and air-independent propulsion (AIP) attack submarines; surface combatants from destroyers to fast attack craft; maritime patrol aircraft (MPA); and naval rotary-wing aircraft. Only a small 'club' of nations are able to design, develop and manufacture torpedo weapons: France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are indications that others are trying to enter this group, including Turkey and Japan. In other word, only a few manufacturers are capable of handling the development from scratch, include Leonardo, Saab, Naval Group, Norinco, BAE Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), LIG Nexl, Roketsan, Atlas Elektronik, Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) and Raytheon Technologies.
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