Ok, without saying to much (otherwise we would have to kill you all) To really sum it up. If we shoot one and it finds you, you are not going to get away. They use fuel that makes its own oxygen since it is underwater.
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP (Advanced Capability) variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.
History
The Mk-48 torpedo was designed in the end of the 1960s to keep up with the advances in Soviet submarine technology. Operational since 1972, it replaced the Mk-37 and Mk-14 torpedoes as the principal weapon of U.S. Navy submarines.[2] With the entry into service of the new Soviet Alfa class submarine in 1979, the decision was made to accelerate the ADCAP program, which would bring significant modifications to the torpedo. Tests were run to ensure that the weapon could keep on with the developments and the weapon was modified with improved acoustics and electronics. The new version of the weapon, also known as Mk-48 Mod 4, was extensively tested and production started in 1985, with entry into service in 1988. From then on, various upgrades have been added to the torpedo, of which the current version is the Mk-48 Mod 6, a mod 7 version was test fired in 2008 in the Rim of Pacific Naval exercises. The inventory of the U.S. Navy is 1,046 Mk-48 torpedoes.[4]
[edit] Deployment
The Mk-48 torpedo is designed to be launched from submarine torpedo tubes. The weapon is carried by all U.S. Navy submarines, including Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, Seawolf, Los Angeles and Virginia class attack submarines. It is also used on Canadian, Australian and Dutch submarines. The Royal Navy elected not to buy the Mark 48, preferring to use the Spearfish instead.
Mk-48 and Mk-48 ADCAP torpedoes can be guided from a submarine by wires attached to the torpedo. They can also use their own active or passive sensors to execute programmed target searches, acquisition and attack procedures. The torpedoes are designed to detonate under the keel of a surface ship, breaking the ship's back and destroying its structural integrity. In the event of a miss, it can circle back for another attempt.
[edit] Propulsion
The swashplate piston engine is fueled by Otto fuel II, a monopropellant that decomposes into hot gas when ignited, which drives the engine. The thrust is generated by a propulsor assembly.
[edit] Sensors and improvements
The torpedo's seeker has an active electronically-steered "pinger" that helps avoid having to maneuver as it closes with the target. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the torpedo's sensors can monitor surrounding electrical and magnetic fields. This may refer to the electromagnetic coils on the warhead (at least from 1977 to 1981), used to sense the metallic mass of the ship's hull and detonate at the proper stand-off distance.
The torpedo has been the subject of continued improvement over its service lifetime. In the 1990s, a Mod 6 variant of the ADCAP provided much improved noise isolation from the engine, which makes this torpedo more difficult to detect by a potential target. In the early 2000s, upgrade design work (codename CBASS Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System) was started to improve shallow water target detection capability and counter-countermeasure capability. On July 25, 2008 a MK 48 Mod 7 CBASS torpedo fired by an Australian Collins-class submarine successfully sank a test target during the Rim of the Pacific 2008 (RIMPAC) exercises.[6][7]
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