U.S. and UK navies fire Mk 48 from uncrewed submarine in first

The trial shows that a weapon from one navy can be integrated with another navy’s uncrewed underwater vehicle.

The U.S. and British navies tested whether a U.S. Mk 48 could be launched from XV Excalibur, the Royal Navy’s uncrewed underwater vehicle; the test made it the first autonomous submarine to fire the torpedo successfully. The launch took place on September 13 at Scotland’s British Underwater Test & Evaluation Center. Under AUKUS Pillar 2, the teams checked the mechanical, electrical and software links between the American weapon and the British vehicle. Since Excalibur has no built-in torpedo tubes, engineers mounted the 3,700-pound weapon beneath its hull in a specialized cradle. The U.S. Navy says Project CUTLASS will follow, using Anduril Dive-XL to advance payload integration, command-and-control systems and tactical scenarios.