alt Hacker NewsELI5: Passive sonar gives you the opponent's bearing only; Active sonar gives you the opponent's bearing and range; active sonar gives your bearing to your opponent(s); firing a torpedo gives away your bearing to your opponent(s). Why wouldn't you confirm a solution with active sonar before firing?
Replies
cckolon • 01/22/2025
Maybe you don't want to give yourself away!
Sonar ignoramus here.
Can't you get the bearing and range with passive listening from two points, and/or single point but measuring over time?
As for why not to confirm a solution with active sonar before firing; if what you described are rules of the game, then IDK because it doesn't seem to load anymore. In real life, I imagine an active sonar ping being much clearer and more informative to the enemy than the noise generated by launching a torpedo.