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Navy Seeks Prototypes for Silent Anvil Air-Launched Glide Torpedo

The service is asking industry for rapid prototypes to give aircraft and drones a compact standoff weapon that can extend how far U.S. forces can hunt submarines.

SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter releasing a Mark 46 torpedo during anti-submarine warfare operation
Mark 54 lightweight torpedo and a P-8A Poseidon on Kadena Air Base, Japan, June 5, 2026. Photo by William Bennett IV
Image
US Navy Torpedo

Overview

  • The Navy’s PAE Munitions and NAVAIR issued a Request for Information asking for either a new integrated glide torpedo or a wing-kit that converts existing torpedoes into an air‑launched glide weapon.
  • The RFI sets tight carriage limits to maximize platform compatibility: weight no more than 268 pounds, length under 70 inches, diameter up to 7.5 inches, and compatibility with the BRU-61/A bomb rack and SDB-like form factor.
  • Launch conditions in the notice span subsonic speeds from about Mach 0.25 to Mach 0.85 and altitudes from roughly 10 feet to 60,000 feet to allow releases from low patrol aircraft up to high‑altitude drones.
  • The Navy set a rapid schedule with an industry day on Sept. 17 and responses due Sept. 29, seeks an end‑to‑end prototype demonstration within 18 months of any award, and wants about 180 all‑up‑round prototypes delivered within three years after a successful demo while using consortium and other‑transaction authorities to speed work.
  • Silent Anvil builds on past glide‑kit work such as HAAWC and is aimed at letting crews and unmanned systems engage submarines from safer stand‑off distances as undersea threats grow, with foreign firms allowed to respond subject to U.S. export and ITAR rules.