Integration of the Sting Ray Mod 1 lightweight torpedo into the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) is set to take a significant step forward in the coming months with the start of initial air carriage and jettison trials, BAE Systems has confirmed.
Speaking to Naval News, the company said the flight trials, which are intended to validate the physical integration of Sting Ray Mod 1 onto the P-8 platform, are planned to take place in the US during Q3 of 2026. Testing will be conducted by the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) using a P-8A Poseidon test aircraft based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
The flight trials follow land-based testing in a factory-controlled environment in the UK during 2025 and will conclude the assessment phase of the P-8 integration programme. This will pave the way to transition into the demonstration and manufacture (D&M) phase, which is expected to start during Q1 of 2027. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a voluntary transparency notice (VTN) on 9 April confirming its intention to award a single-source contract to BAE Systems Surface Ships for the D&M phase to integrate the Sting Ray Mod 1 into the P-8 MPAs.
The deal, worth £24 million, will cover demonstration, manufacture, and potentially in-service support for the integration programme. Work is expected to run from around February 2027 through to February 2032, with a possible extension to 2035.
The RAF operates a fleet of nine Poseidon MRA1 aircraft, which are based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. The UK in November 2023 announced its decision to equip the RAF P-8A fleet with the domestically developed Sting Ray torpedo as a complement to the US-built Mk 54 torpedo acquired under the original US Foreign Military Sales programme.
Developed and manufactured by BAE Systems, Sting Ray Mod 1 is an acoustic homing lightweight anti-submarine warfare (ASW) torpedo deployed from frigates, helicopters and MPAs against submarine threats in deepwater and coastal environments. Entering service in 2001, the Mod 1 weapon is the primary ASW weapon equipping the RN’s Merlin HM2 and Wildcat HMA2 helicopters; it is also fitted to some Type 23 frigates for ASW self-defence.
Developed from the Mod 0 torpedo that entered service in 1983, the Mod 1 features an updated sonar system, an insensitive munition warhead, a new tactical control system and a seawater battery propulsion system.
Sting Ray Mod 1 is intended to provide the RAF with an interim sovereign solution for its P-8A MPAs until the improved Sting Ray Mod 2 variant enters service in the early 2030s. BAE Systems is partway through the assessment phase of the Sting Ray Mid Life Upgrade Programme (SRMLU) under a four-year GBP60 million contract awarded in 2024. Work covers the design and development of the Mod 2 upgrade, build of the prototype weapons and in-water trials. The assessment phase for Mod 2 will conclude in late 2027, moving into the D&M phase in 2028.
The SRMLU programme will result in the existing Sting Ray Mod 1 inventory being refurbished to the Mod 2 standard. It will also establish a design baseline for new-build production to meet international demand.
