ET52 torpedo is the Chinese development of the
light
acoustic homing torpedo, and is considered by many domestic Chinese sources as Chinese equivalent of the
Mod. 2 version. ET52 is essentially the
torpedo with technologies of US
incorporated.
China purchased around 40
light ASW torpedo in
for evaluation and reverse engineering.
At the time, China was in the process of mastering the license production of the US
according to the deal first signed between China and USA in
. The 705th Institute (also known as
Precision Machinery Research Institute, 西安精密机械研究所) tasked to evaluate and reverse engineering the
torpedo was also responsible for
program in China, with many of the team members working on both projects. Chinese researchers suggested that since
powered torpedo could cost as much as three times of electrically powered torpedo, the cheaper electrically powered torpedo should be developed also. The suggestion was accepted, and it was decided to that the technologies of both the
and
torpedo should be applied to each other to enhance the performance, and 705th Institute (also known as
Precision Machinery Research Institute, 西安精密机械研究所) was put in charge of A244-S torpedo project in addition to the Mk 46 Mod. 2 torpedo project. Although incorporating the best features to each other certainly improved the performance for both torpedoes, the greatest benefit by far was that due to many shared components, production techniques, and other technologies, the logistic support was significantly reduced and the overall cost was also significantly lowered. A derivative of ET52 has been exhibited at various defense exhibitions by China Shipbuilding Co., and this derivative uses Otto fuel instead of battery.
Specifications:
- Diameter: 324 mm
- Length: 2.6 m
- Weight: 235 kg
- Warhead: 34 kg
- Propellant: Electric
- Speed: 30
(56 km/h)
- Range: 6 km
