Qinetiq delivers LOKI

Qinetiq has completed customer signoff trials and shipped the first consignment of LOKI torpedo countermeasures to the Royal Norwegian Navy.

As part of an ongoing support contract worth over €4m, the LOKI rounds - designed to provide protection to Norway’s new Fridtjof Nansen class frigates from torpedos - were delivered to Bergen in Norway.

LOKI is an expendable countermeasure for acoustic-homing torpedos. It can work in two modes or a combination of both. Jammer mode uses high-power pseudo random noise and confuser mode, which counters the threat of active, narrow band sonar weapons. It is fully programmable and can work from threat specific input via a data port and can be upgraded easily.

It can be mortar launched using Terma DL-12T or 130mm Mk36 launchers, or configured with rocket and pneumatic launch modules.

The company is now seeking to expand the market for the countermeasures to include the USA and other international customers.

‘This achievement is a major milestone as it confirms LOKI as a fully developed and deliverable Qinetiq product,’ said Andrew Bailey, managing director of Qinetiq sea systems business. ‘Lot-one has now been shipped and will enter service with the Royal Norwegian Navy and we are currently negotiating with several other potential customers. Key to the appeal of LOKI is its acknowledged acoustic performance, its future proof design and its ease with which it can be configured by the user.’

Live firing tests were first completed in Portland Harbour, England, and acoustic tests were performed in Loch Goil, Scotland.