# Can a torpedo be stopped by another torpedo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651 "2003-05-02T16:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651/1 "2003-05-02T16:05:03Z")
In modern submarine combat, it seems like the main response to a torpedo threatening a submarine is to deploy countermeasures. Is it possible to instead fire a torpedo to home in on the other one (assuming the other torpedo is actively pinging for a target?) Also, are there ways to ‘jam’ a torpedo’s sensors? Would directing a massive amount of sonar at the torpedo do anything (I would think it would blind the torpedo in some way). ---
**Author:** ![Phage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a4c791/32.png) [@Phage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phage)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651/2 "2003-05-02T18:51:57Z")
Well… if you could hit a torpedo with another torpedo it would definately destory both of them. Now, it would probably be pretty hard to hit a torpedo as it is moving very quickly and is not very large. After all, why shoot something at it when you can put a much cheaper countermeasure out and have it destroy itself? As to jamming a torpedo, I would think that it would screw with it’s head but it would still direct itself toward the sub. After all, the signals are funky but they are still originating from the same place. Besides, the idea of the sub is to be very quiet and hide. Actively pinging would just be inviting more torpedos and make it harder to continue with their mission. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651/3 "2003-05-02T19:52:14Z")
If you consider distraction a form of jamming, then the noisemakers that submarines traditionally employ might qualify. I think that many decoys work on the principle of acoustic jamming: they fizzle so loud in the water that the noise made by the submarine is obscured and the torpedo therefore targets the noisemaker instead. There is also an advanced [anti-torpedo torpedo](http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/engineering/333_mechanics/usea_anti.asp) in development. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651/4 "2003-05-03T00:15:39Z")
Well, the reason I brought it up is because of the ADCAP Mk 48 torpedo is desgined to filter out countermeasures like noisemakers. What about a relatively simply proximity device? Like sort of an underwater depth charge that detects when the enemy torpedo gets within a certain distance, and detonates. If the submarine was moving away from the pursuing torpedo, then they could be launched behind it to be in the path of the torpedo. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-torpedo-be-stopped-by-another-torpedo/172651/5 "2003-05-03T00:39:47Z")
You have to remember that a torpedo is a fairly small target moving in excess of 50 kts. Not that easy to hit, especially head through water.