Design and development of the missile began in 1983 when
Goodyear Aerospace was contracted by the U.S. Navy to develop a ship-launched anti-submarine missile compatible with the new
Mark 41 vertical launching system (VLS). The development of the
VLS ASROC underwent many delays, and it was not deployed on any ships until 1993. During this development, Goodyear Aerospace was bought by
Loral Corporation in 1986, and this defense division was in turn purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1995. Beginning in 1996, the missile was replaced by the newer RUM-139A and subsequently the RUM-139B. The
torpedo remained the Mark 46, though at one time an improved variant using the
Mark 50 was proposed and then canceled. In October 2004, the RUM-139C began production with the
Mark 54 torpedo. The Mk 54 Mod 0 torpedo achieved
Initial Operating Capability in 2010, and the U.S. Navy is transitioning its VL-ASROCs to use the Mk 54. ==See also==