A heavyweight torpedo’s launch and its guidance are separate parts of the process. Using the U.S. Navy’s MK 48 as an example, a submarine sends the weapon out through a torpedo tube; after launch, an attached wire can support remote guidance, while the torpedo can also use its own acoustic system to search for and home on a target.
What happens when a submarine launches a heavyweight torpedo?
The submarine launches the weapon from a torpedo tube. The Navy’s MK 48 Mod 6AT technical sheet identifies two launch capabilities: impulse and swimout. These describe ways the torpedo exits the submarine, not ways it detects or tracks a target.
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Public Navy material supports this broad explanation, not one universal firing sequence. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division describes a 688i Weapons Launch Console used for team training that covers pre-launch procedures, arming, launch, and tube-control actions. That training-system description does not establish the exact procedure for every submarine class or torpedo variant. Navy 688i Weapons Launch Console description
How can wire guidance work after launch?
An attached guidance wire can provide a communications path between the submarine and a heavyweight torpedo after launch. It allows remote operation; the wire itself does not detect the target. The U.S. Navy’s September 2024 draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS says: “Torpedoes operate autonomously, or in the case of heavyweight torpedoes, use a guidance system to operate the torpedo remotely through an attached wire (guidance wire).” U.S. Navy, Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS, Appendix A
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Remote guidance and autonomous homing are not mutually exclusive. A torpedo may receive remote guidance through its wire and also use onboard acoustic sensing. The sources cited here do not specify a universal point at which one guidance method gives way to another.
How does a torpedo find a ship or submarine?
The MK 48 is described by the Navy as an acoustic-homing weapon with digital guidance-and-control systems. Acoustic homing uses sound, and the Navy distinguishes two broad approaches:
- Passive: The torpedo listens for sounds generated by a target.
- Active: The torpedo transmits sonar pings and uses returning sound to search.
These are descriptions of how autonomous acoustic guidance can work, not a claim that every MK 48 variant uses the same settings or sequence in every engagement. The MK 48 fact file identifies the weapon’s anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare roles. U.S. Navy MK 48 fact file and NAVSEA / NUWC Newport MK 48 Mod 6AT characteristics
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What do the public specifications say about the MK 48?
The Navy’s fact file, updated November 15, 2023, lists these general characteristics. They provide a sense of scale and should not be read as values that apply identically to every variant.
| Characteristic | Value listed by the Navy |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21 inches |
| Weight | 3,744 pounds |
| Warhead | 650-pound high-explosive warhead |
How should variant and upgrade claims be read?
“MK 48” covers a weapon family, and a technical sheet for one variant should not be treated as a specification for every version. For example, NAVSEA / NUWC Newport’s sheet is specifically for the MK 48 Mod 6AT; the Navy fact file provides general characteristics.
The Department of the Navy’s FY2026 weapons procurement justification book discusses planned communications-system and other MOD 8 upgrades. Those are program and budget descriptions, not proof that every operational torpedo already has the upgrades. A procurement request is also not a unit price. Department of the Navy FY2026 Weapons Procurement Justification Book
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How to compare descriptions of torpedo guidance
When a source calls a weapon wire-guided, autonomous, or acoustic-homing, check what capability it is describing rather than treating the terms as competing answers.
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- Launch: What method sends the weapon out of the tube? The cited MK 48 Mod 6AT sheet lists impulse and swimout.
- Remote link: Does an attached wire provide a post-launch communications path?
- Autonomous homing: Does the source describe passive listening, active sonar transmission, or both?
- Variant: Is the claim about a specific MK 48 version or the weapon family generally?
- Upgrade status: Does the source describe fielded capability, or a planned program component?
The cited public material does not establish a universal operational firing procedure or support exact performance and tactical-range comparisons across weapons.
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