AUKUS heavyweight torpedo test raises questions over future armed UUV requirements
Royal Navy XLUUV XV Excalibur is lowered into the water during trials off Scotland. (Photo: Royal Navy)
A heavyweight torpedo firing from the Royal Navy’s uncrewed submarine XV Excalibur suggests a shift beyond surveillance, with allied navies eyeing strike roles for large autonomous undersea vessels.
The successful integration and test firing of a heavyweight torpedo from a Royal Navy (RN) uncrewed submarine for the first time has demonstrated the potential for armed uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) as they begin to move from concept to operational capability.
The XV Excalibur, a 12m extra-large UUV (XLUUV) built by MSubs in Plymouth, was fitted with a specialist management system to fire and control a US Navy (USN) Mk48 Mod 4 heavyweight torpedo at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre near the Kyle of Lochalsh on the northwest coast of Scotland.
The three-week experiment, known as Project Broadsword and Trial Iron,
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