The CAPTOR was/is a variant of mine developed by the
U.S. Navy during the
Cold War. Designed to deny areas of ocean to
Soviet submarines, the CAPTOR was really a
moored ASW torpedo (the Mk. 46 US) with just enough support hardware to launch it upon the detection of nearby shipping or submarine traffic. Expensive and fragile, they were reserved for wartime
interdiction of the
SLOCs via the
GIUK Gap and for mining enemy submarine transit lanes and harbors. CAPTOR stands for En
CAPsulated
TORpedo.
CAPTORs could be deployed by surface vessels, aircraft or submarines.