Britain launches torpedo from unmanned submarine for first time

△”Excalibur” unmanned underwater vehicle

The British government announced on the 21st local time that the UK used an unmanned submarine to test-fire a torpedo for the first time.

It is reported that the test launch of the British-made “Excalibur” unmanned submarine was carried out in British waters last week. The torpedo used was a heavy-duty torpedo jointly developed by the United States and Australia. The British government said that the test marked “significant progress” in submarine technology by the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.

It is understood that the “Excalibur” unmanned submarine is 12 meters long and is undergoing sea testing. One of its functions is to protect British submarine cables and pipelines.

The test was part of the US-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) defense cooperation. The three countries announced in September 2021 the establishment of AUKUS and cooperation on nuclear submarines. Australia is a non-nuclear country, and the three countries’ promotion of nuclear submarine cooperation, which carries high nuclear proliferation risks, has aroused doubts and concerns in the international community about the three countries deepening their military alliance and undermining regional security and stability.