Royal Navy Warship Shot Down a Supersonic Missile in ‘Historic First’

One of many British Royal Navy’s most superior warships, the HMS Dragon, accomplished a “historic first” when it shot down a supersonic missile in a take a look at off the coast of Scotland on Friday, the pressure stated.

The Kind 45 air protection destroyer fired a modified Sea Viper missile and “obliterated” a high-speed goal that was designed to mimic among the newest and most superior threats going through the pressure world wide, the navy stated in a press launch.

It added that it marked “the primary time the Royal Navy has confronted down this type of goal,” which it stated was “considerably tougher because it flies sooner and carries out corkscrew and weave manoeuvres.”

Footage shared by the Royal Navy on X reveals the strike, which occurred as a part of Train Formidable Defend 25, a large-scale NATO live-firing train going down in Norway and the UK this 12 months.

Commander Iain Giffin, the commanding officer of the HMS Dragon, stated the strike was “an enormous second” for the destroyer.

“Not solely does it show that Dragon’s world main air defence functionality capabilities because it ought to following an intensive upkeep interval, nevertheless it additionally proves our skill to combine and function alongside NATO allies and companions,” he stated. “Coaching alongside ships, plane and land forces from 11 nations on this advanced, multi-domain train ensures that we keep our combating edge in opposition to evolving Hello and Low-tech threats.”

The HMS Dragon is a Kind 45 destroyer and one of many UK’s most superior warships.

With greater than 200 crew, the vessel performs a key position in Britain’s air defenses, utilizing its Sea Viper missile system to hunt out and neutralise threats. Dragon will also be deployed to supply help in catastrophe reduction eventualities and counter-narcotics boarding operations.

The UK has been testing out a spread of recent strike capabilities on its warships in recent times.

In 2024, the UK’s Ministry of Defence first confirmed off its new DragonFire laser weapon, with video footage exhibiting it in motion off the coast of Scotland.

The laser directed vitality weapon is a high-power, low-cost weapon system designed to focus on aerial threats with “pinpoint accuracy,” in accordance with the UK authorities.

A UK Ministry of Defence official instructed Enterprise Insider in March that it was planning to deploy the weapon on 4 Royal Navy destroyers by 2027.