US Navy Nuclear Submarine Firing Powerful Torpedoes Deep Underwater

YouTube / The Daily Aviation

Mk 46 and the Mk 32

The video features the Mark 46 torpedo, the US Navy’s and NATO’s standard lightweight anti-submarine weapon. These aerial 508-lb torpedoes have a range of up to 12,000 yds, a maximum speed of 46 mph, and a max depth of 1,200 ft. 

Moreover, the Mk 46 can be surface-launched or air-launched, using its active or passive acoustic homing as a guidance system to reach the target.

Its many launching platforms include the Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes. These launchers have armed most of the Navy’s surface vessels since its introduction in 1960. Mk 32s are designed to be fired remotely, though some have manual firing controls as a backup. 

For a weapon and launcher designed back in the 60s, they’re not as bad as you think.