Britain and the United States have for the first time test-fired a torpedo from an uncrewed undersea vessel rather than a crewed submarine, the UK government announced Monday.
London said in a statement the live firing took place in UK waters last week as part of the AUKUS alliance with Australia.
The announcement came as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham headed to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. London said the heavyweight torpedo jointly developed by the US and Australia was launched from a 12-metre long undersea drone manufactured in Britain and named Excalibur. Burnham is due to have his first meeting with US President Donald Trump at the summit since becoming UK leader in July.
The British government said the test “marks a major advance in the future of submarine technology” for the three countries. It “delivers a significant breakthrough for Euro-Atlantic security and NATO’s undersea advantage”, the statement added. The UK government said that Burnham would use his trip to New York to “drive forward global work” on artificial intelligence.
