A passive actuator latching system in which a magnetic latch mechanism is mounted on an air damping mechanism. The air damping mechanism is optimized to the moving mass of the actuator and the specified mechanical shock tolerance to allow a relatively weak magnetic latch to resist unlatching due to relatively large short-duration mechanical shocks by providing damped compliance to the latching system during the application of mechanical shocks, and attenuating the shock force experienced at the magnetic interface. Various mechanisms for selecting the direction and magnitude of the damping of the compliance are disclosed.