The Mark 60 CAPTOR (Encapsulated Torpedo) is the United States' only deep-water anti-submarine naval mine.[4][3][2] It uses a Mark 46 torpedo[2][3] contained in an aluminum shell that is anchored to the ocean floor.[2] The mine can be placed by either aircraft, submarine or surface vessel.[2][3] The torpedo, once placed, can last anywhere from weeks to months underwater.[3] The original production contract of the CAPTOR mine was awarded to Goodyear Aerospace in 1972, and entered service in 1979.[3] It was hoped to reduce minefield costs and used in the creation of a barrier of the "Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap to interrupt Soviet submarines in the event that deterrence failed."[4]
The mine uses Reliable Acoustic Path (RAP)[2][1] sound propagation to passively identify and track the difference between hostile submarine signatures, surface vessels and friendly submarines.[3] Once identified, the torpedo leaves its casing to destroy its target.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Mk 60 Captor Mine | VP-4 Association". www.vp4association.com. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "U.S. Naval Mines - Captor program". www.hartshorn.us. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
- ^ a b "Naval Mines and Mining: Innovating in the Face of Benign Neglect". Center for International Maritime Security. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
External links
Media related to CAPTOR mine at Wikimedia Commons