Royal Navy successfully launches US Mk 48 torpedo from uncrewed submersible

The Royal Navy successfully launched a U.S. Navy Mk 48 Heavyweight Torpedo from a British Excalibur uncrewed underwater vehicle, or UUV, marking a significant step toward allied operational fleets of uncrewed vehicles.

The successful Sept. 13 launch at the British Underwater Test & Evaluation Centre in Scotland highlights a major operational achievement for AUKUS Pillar 2 — a multilateral agreement between the U.S., U.K. and Australia to enable Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle payload systems that can be used across each country’s UUVs, according to the May 2026 agreement .

While still just a proof of concept, the successful test, according to the Navy press release, “validated the mechanical, electrical, and software integration of a U.S. kinetic payload onto an allied autonomous vessel, proving that allied forces can rapidly achieve weapon interchangeability.”

The allied cooperation and testing marks “a historic first for allied undersea warfare,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations. “Proving that we can seamlessly launch a U.S. heavyweight torpedo from a Royal Navy autonomous underwater vehicle validates our shared vision for true interchangeability. By integrating weapons, payloads, and mission architectures across allied platforms, we are increasing the flexibility, scale, and combat power of our combined forces and ensuring they are ready to meet the strategic demands of tomorrow.”

The latest version of the Mk 48, the MOD 7, a result of a Joint Development Program with the Royal Australian Navy, is optimized for both “traditional and emerging missions, according to the Navy , while the Excalibur, unveiled in May 2025, is the Royal Navy’s first uncrewed submarine.

From video of the event, it appears that the Mk 48 torpedo was placed under the nearly 40-foot British submersible and launched from a cradle attached to the hull of the UUV.

The Mk 48 torpedo, the U.S. Navy’s standard heavyweight torpedo, stands at 19 feet long with a 21-inch diameter.

According to the U.K.’s Navy Lookout , “Excalibur has no torpedo tubes, but a large central payload bay with doors at the top and bottom. However, the Mk 48 torpedo… is too long to fit in the standard central payload bay.”

With close coordination between the two navies, it is conceivable that future UUVs will deploy sophisticated weapon launch arrangements suitable for both British and American-made technologies.

The successful deployment of the heavyweight torpedo is just the first step under AUKUS Pillar 2.

This proof of concept is just the first step, however, as the U.S. and Royal Navy continue an aggressive “follow-on acceleration with Project CUTLASS” that will utilize the Anduril Dive-XL platform and tackle “advanced payload integration data, command and control architectures, and tactical employment scenarios to further mature uncrewed undersea capabilities,” per the release.

Claire Barrett is an editor and military history correspondent for Military Times. She holds a master's degree in military history from King's College, London, and is also a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill and Michigan football.

英国皇家海军成功地从英国“神剑”无人水下航行器（UUV）上发射了一枚美国海军Mk 48重型鱼雷，这标志着盟军在建立无人航行器作战舰队方面迈出了重要一步。

9 月 13 日在苏格兰英国水下测试与评估中心成功发射，凸显了 AUKUS Pillar 2 的一项重大运营成就——根据 2026 年 5 月的协议，这是美国、英国和澳大利亚之间的一项多边协议，旨在使无人水下航行器有效载荷系统能够在各国的无人水下航行器 (UUV) 上使用。

虽然目前仍只是概念验证，但根据海军新闻稿，此次成功的测试“验证了美国动能有效载荷在盟军自主舰艇上的机械、电气和软件集成，证明盟军可以迅速实现武器互换性”。

美国海军作战部长达里尔·考德尔海军上将表示，此次盟军合作与测试标志着“盟军水下作战历史上的一个里程碑”。他说道：“我们能够从英国皇家海军的自主水下航行器上无缝发射美国重型鱼雷，这验证了我们对真正互换性的共同愿景。通过在盟军平台上整合武器、有效载荷和任务架构，我们正在提升联合部队的灵活性、规模和作战能力，并确保其能够满足未来的战略需求。”

据海军称，Mk 48 的最新版本 MOD 7 是与澳大利亚皇家海军联合开发计划的成果，针对“传统任务和新兴任务”进行了优化；而于 2025 年 5 月亮相的“神剑”号是皇家海军的第一艘无人潜艇。

从事件视频来看，Mk 48 鱼雷被放置在近 40 英尺长的英国潜水器下方，并从连接到 UUV 船体的支架上发射出去。

Mk 48 鱼雷是美国海军的标准重型鱼雷，长 19 英尺，直径 21 英寸。

据英国海军观察网站报道，“亚瑟王神剑号没有鱼雷发射管，但有一个顶部和底部带有舱门的大型中央有效载荷舱。然而，Mk 48 鱼雷……太长，无法装入标准的中央有效载荷舱。”

鉴于两国海军之间的密切协调，可以预见，未来的无人水下航行器将部署适用于英国和美国制造技术的先进武器发射装置。

成功部署重型鱼雷只是 AUKUS 第二支柱计划的第一步。

然而，这一概念验证仅仅是第一步，美国和英国皇家海军将继续积极推进“CUTLASS项目后续加速”，该项目将利用Anduril Dive-XL平台，并解决“先进的有效载荷集成数据、指挥控制架构和战术运用场景，以进一步完善无人水下作战能力”，新闻稿中如此写道。

克莱尔·巴雷特是《军事时报》的编辑和军事历史记者。她拥有伦敦国王学院军事历史硕士学位，也是一位二战研究员，对温斯顿·丘吉尔爵士和密歇根大学橄榄球队有着无与伦比的热爱。