Malafon
Malafon (MArine LAtécoère FONds) was a French ship-launched anti-submarine missile system. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the weapon was intended to take advantage of the greater detection ranges possible with towed sonar arrays. The missile entered service in 1966 and was manufactured by Groupe Latécoère The weapon is essentially a glider-delivered version of the L4 torpedo.
Malafon
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- Field
- anti-submarine missile.
- Region
- France.
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Documentary summary
Malafon (MArine LAtécoère FONds) was a French ship-launched anti-submarine missile system. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the weapon was intended to take advantage of the greater detection ranges possible with towed sonar arrays. The missile entered service in 1966 and was manufactured by Groupe Latécoère The weapon is essentially a glider-delivered version of the L4 torpedo.
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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q2255254 · wikipedia · Malafon
In this article
Ships
Ships
The launcher is a circular mount, which allows the weapon to be rotated to the correct bearing, then fired at a fixed elevation of +15°. Two solid booster rockets accelerate it to 830 km/h (520 mph) within 4 seconds before falling away. The unpowered glider continues at an altitude of 100 metres (330 ft), altering course in mid-flight under radio control of the launch platform. Effective range was 13 km (8.1 mi). The range of the Malafon meant that it was expected to hit the water within 800 metres (2,600 ft) of the submarine's location. The L4 torpedo had a speed of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) over a range of 5 km (3.1 mi). The Malafon was a large weapon, with each missile weighing 1,330 kg (2,930 lb). It was typically used for medium- and long-range submarine targets, though it could have been used against surface ships. The system was never used at war. It was declared obsolete in 1997. It was replaced by Westland Lynx helicopters using Mark 46 torpedoes.
The Malafon system was fitted to the following ship classes T 47-class destroyer T56 (La Galissonnière) Suffren-class frigate French frigate Aconit Tourville-class frigate
Specifications
Specifications
The missile had a 3.19 m (10.5 ft) wingspan, with the main body having a 65 cm (26 in) diameter. The torpedo had a 533 mm (21.0 in) diameter and could dive to 300 m (980 ft) depth.
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France.
Country
Malafon is associated with France.
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Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Malafon”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2255254: Malafon
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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