UK’s uncrewed experimental sub shows it can fire torpedoes

XV Excalibur hailed as first US or UK underwater drone to let one off in tests

A British uncrewed submarine has test-fired a torpedo for the first time, demonstrating the ability of undersea drones to attack targets as well as perform reconnaissance and surveillance roles.

The XV Excalibur, a 12 meter (40 ft) experimental uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV), was unveiled last year as the Royal Navy’s first large submarine drone as part of Project CETUS.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the test firing was part of the AUKUS program, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and America. It involved the Excalibur launching a heavyweight torpedo “jointly developed by the US and Australia,” which implies it was the Mk 48 torpedo currently carried by all US Navy submarines.

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Also according to Downing Street, this was the first time either the US or UK has launched a torpedo from an underwater drone, rather than a crewed submarine.

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The Register understands that  Excalibur navigated autonomously to its launch position and carried out a pre-programmed launch sequence, but was not responsible for detecting or tracking the target, as target data was provided through external systems.

As noted by defense site Navy Lookout, the Excalibur has no torpedo tubes, and its payload bay in the midships section of the hull is too small to accommodate a large torpedo, so it is possible the weapon was carried via some sort of cradle attached to the underside of the sub.

We asked the Ministry of Defence for further details, and whether trials were also planned using the British Spearfish torpedo in place of the Mk 48.

The builders of the vehicle, Plymouth-based MSubs Ltd, announced in July that it had been awarded a new £6.7 million ($8.9m) contract by the Submarine Delivery Agency to undertake the next phase of trials and evaluations of Excalibur for the Royal Navy.

While Excalibur is currently an experimental vehicle, it is expected to inform requirements for future UUVs that the Royal Navy wants to help patrol the North Atlantic and protect against expected Russian sabotage of undersea cables and other infrastructure in the event of hostilities breaking out.

The Excalibur tests come as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to confirm the UK and US are working together in an AI and Autonomy partnership. This - so we are told - will help Britain protect critical national infrastructure, from sea lanes to air space, providing the means to detect threats and deter adversaries using the latest AI technology developed on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We are at our strongest when we work with our partners to tackle the most complex shared challenges we face, driven by our values,” Burnham said.

“That ambition is underlined in our new defence partnership with the United States on AI and autonomy, bringing together the brightest minds to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure, deter those who threaten our security, and use the enormous potential of AI to our advantage.” ®