A Navy briefing slide showing the internal components and describing the various features of the PSU_ARL Common Very Light Weight Torpedo (CVLWT) design
Naval News reports a FY2026 budget document states,
“The FY 2026 increase includes support SLQ-25E countermeasures capability improvements, and support for development of an anti-torpedo torpedo defense hard kill capability… …integration and testing the Hard Kill Program will be developed through FY 2030. The US Navy plans to install this torpedo hard-kill countermeasure on over 165 different surface ships.”
“Development will also include improvements to the NIXIE winch to enable the integration of the TWS system, the design and development of a launching system that will launch the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) variant designed for torpedo defense. The launcher will be designed to have the capability to launch ADC-MK2 Acoustic countermeasure devices along with the CRAW countermeasure.”
Sounds like they are going to put it on every ship that has a NIXIE, which would include the National Security Cutters and perhaps the Offshore Patrol Cutters as well.
We have seen this weapon before:
- New Multi-Mission Very Light Weight Torpedo — May 23, 2020
- “Navy to Field First New Torpedo in Decades” –National Defense –Dec. 25, 2020
- Video: Northrop Grumman Showcases Very Light Weight Torpedo At Sea Air Space 2021″ –Naval News –Aug. 21, 2021
Jan. 13, 2023 Seapower magazine reported that Raytheon was building 18 CRAW prototypes.
These cannot enter the fleet too soon.
What isn’t clear is if the multi-mission nature of the weapon was retained. Apparently the Mk58 torpedo can also be used against submarines as well as inbound torpedoes. Can it be used against surface ships? If so, can it target the stern/propellers/rudder? If so, it could give small cutters an effective way to forcibly stop even large ships, a capability they need for the Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Been watching this VLWT development for some time. Anti-torpedo-torpedo seems to be the goal. However, anything that can swim and is this capable could go after submarines as well. Ships could be targeted by this would be a mission kill/degrade weapon for surface vessels. How deep it can do is the key. It will have an Anti Wake-following Torpedo capability for sure for that was the original tasking for this little go-getter. Then it grew into so many more missions as new technology and actual capability was realized. Really look forward to seeing this system under test which has probably already happened.
Maybe we will see it in a RIMPAC but I doubt this year.
The advent of wake homing torpedoes was what motivated the search for a hard kill torpedo countermeasure, because soft kill systems like NIXIE would not work against them.
Don’t know that the now Mk58 was originally intended to have an anti-surface wake homing option, but it should not be too difficult.
For the Coast Guard purposes a simplified pure anti-surface wake homer would probably be a lot cheaper.
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There are a lot of things a light-weight torpedo could be used for, but the key task should be to defend ships against inbound torpedoes, so the focus should remain on that task.
Anything else is likely to result in a larger, more expensive weapon that is a sub-optimal design in respect of the key defensive task of defending the host ship against incoming torpedoes. Keep it simple, resist mission creep!