Latest Development Progress and Technical Approach of U.S. Navy’s Three Types of Torpedoes

The torpedo technology of the United States is at leading level in the world, and its development has always been the focus of foreign navies’ attentions. In this paper, the development technical trends of the U.S. Navy’s three types of torpedoes, i.e., the MK 54 Mod 1 lightweight torpedo and MK 48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo in service, and the developing torpedo——the anti-torpedo torpedo(ATT), are reviewed and briefly analyzed based on the U.S. Navy report and the relative information in the fiscal year 2017. In this fiscal year, the U.S. Navy: 1) continued to improve the sonar hardware and the tactical software of the MK 54 Mod 1 torpedo, and conducted several developmental in-water tests; 2) carried out torpedo’s advanced propulsion system(TAPS) program to extend the range of MK 48 Mod 7 torpedo; 3) completed deployments of ATTs on three aircraft carriers, and conducted the quick reaction assessment. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reference for the development of relative weapons in China.