torpedo guidance

[Andrej]

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, and he insisted that torpedo in modern US subs still have wires on them, so they can be hand guided if necessary.

Then it came to me why would someone want to have the unnecessary medium of like 5000 yards of cable when signals (waves) travel uderwater very quickly and you can still guide the torpedo with radiowaves or lasers.

So here's my question:

Do modern (or new if there are still any made) US subs equip with wire guided torpedos, and what's the reason for this?

Thanks!

[Andrej]

I would like to stress out that the conversation was ONLY about US SUBS and only on MODERN subs (new ones if there are still any made). (not russian or german or...)

[Letum]

Radio guidance and lazer guidance can both be picked up and jammed easily
cant answer your Q tho

[Sailor Steve]

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/1592/ustorp5.htm
Scroll down to the Mk 45 Nuclear Torpedo. Definitely wire guided.

[kschang]

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, and he insisted that torpedo in modern US subs still have wires on them, so they can be hand guided if necessary.

Then it came to me why would someone want to have the unnecessary medium of like 5000 yards of cable when signals (waves) travel uderwater very quickly and you can still guide the torpedo with radiowaves or lasers.

So here's my question:

Do modern (or new if there are still any made) US subs equip with wire guided torpedos, and what's the reason for this?


The answer is they are indeed still wire-guided, even the Mk48 ADCAPs. However, they all have internal pursuit logic in case the wire is cut, whether by maneuver, shock, or on purpose (by closing outer doors).

Wire guiding works because it is simple, it is reliable, and it's practically foolproof and jamproof.

You have to keep in mind that torpedoes often work in very noisy environments, like after underwater detonations, in company of noisemakers and decoys, etc. The home-sub could be maneuvering and so on. Laser guidance requires a stable platform or emitters all over the ship which ain't reliable. Sound guidance don't work in noisy environments and can be jammed/blocked by explosions.

Quite a few modern anti-tank missiles are still wire-guided. And there's talk that instead of a normal wire, next-gen missiles will use optical fiber.

[Kapitan]

MK 48 ADCAP is wire guided and so is the british speafish and a few other russian torpedos (to long to list to long to find it too)

[kschang]

Supposedly the Russian type 65 is IR homing?

[Kapitan]

depends on what 65 your on about theres a fair few of them

[TopTorp '92]

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, and he insisted that torpedo in modern US subs still have wires on them, so they can be hand guided if necessary.

Then it came to me why would someone want to have the unnecessary medium of like 5000 yards of cable when signals (waves) travel uderwater very quickly and you can still guide the torpedo with radiowaves or lasers.

So here's my question:

Do modern (or new if there are still any made) US subs equip with wire guided torpedos, and what's the reason for this?

Thanks!

Most modern US subs have the capability to fire the ADCAP which is wire controlled. There is 9,700 yards of wire in the Torpedo Mounting Dispenser (TMD) and an additional 20,000 yards of wire in one of the fuel tanks.

Wire command will shut the torpedo down in the event of false target acquisition, ie the torpedo homes on ownship or it homes on another unintended target. The idea with the shutdown is to avoid killing the wrong people and to further avoid going to jail afterwards.

The reason why these submarine launched torpedoes continue to use wire guidance rather than another competing technology is obviously subject to speculative debate. But I think it is the shutdown command that keeps the wire in operational play.

[Schaitan]

How many is long the thin cable between the torpedos end the sub? And is necessary to cut the cable when the torpedos has acquired the target?

Tanks, Schaitan

[Schaitan]

Sorry, another question...
What means " OTS schooting"?

Tanks again, Schaitan

[SeaQueen]

Then it came to me why would someone want to have the unnecessary medium of like 5000 yards of cable when signals (waves) travel uderwater very quickly and you can still guide the torpedo with radiowaves or lasers.

So here's my question:

Do modern (or new if there are still any made) US subs equip with wire guided torpedos, and what's the reason for this?

Thanks!

Sound travels well underwater. Light does not, nor does any other form of electromagnetic radiation.

I suppose one could theoretically guide a torpedo using some kind of acoustic datalink, but you probably wouldn't be able to get as much range with it as one might desire.

Wire guidence is the best way to do it. It's simple, reliable, and effective.