US torpedo launches from British uncrewed submarine in joint test

The US Navy and Royal Navy launched a US Mk 48 exercise torpedo from the British uncrewed submarine XV Excalibur in a test at the British Underwater Test & Evaluation Centre in Scotland. The demonstration showed that a US heavyweight torpedo could be launched from a Royal Navy robotic underwater vehicle. The work falls under the technology-development track of the AUKUS partnership among the US, UK and Australia. According to the US Navy, the test moved from approval to completion in seven months. It demonstrated an exercise launch and the integration of allied equipment; the source does not establish an operational deployment of an armed autonomous submarine.