Excalibur (submarine)

History

2025: Submarine Presentation

In mid-August 2025, the Royal British Navy demonstrated an unmanned submarine Excalibur, which is designed for surveillance, reconnaissance activities and other tasks. The peculiarity of the vessel is that it can be controlled "from the other end of the world" - from a distance of 16 thousand kilometers.

The submarine has a length of 12 meters and a width of 2 meters, and its displacement is 19 tons. The submarine was created by Plymouth-based MSubs as part of the CETUS program. The vessel belongs to the so-called XLUUV class (eXtra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle) - an ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicle. Excalibur underwent port and marine acceptance tests at Devonport.

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Фото: Royal British Navy

In particular, tests carried out by Britain and Australia as part of the AUKUS Pillar II project tested the capabilities of the submarine in terms of remote control. Australian dispatchers successfully controlled the work of the submarine, being more than 16 thousand kilometers from it.

Details about the technical equipment of Excalibur were not disclosed. At the same time, it is noted that the submarine will serve as a testing ground for new marine technologies. It is said about the possibility of conducting hostilities on the seabed, placing sensors or other payload and prolonged observation.

MSubs naval designer Callum McCullough calls the autonomous submarine a "sea pickup." When designing the submarine, special attention was paid to the cargo compartment, which is made on the basis of a strong carbon fiber chassis. The volume of this compartment is nine cubic meters. The Royal British Navy has several payloads ready to be tested aboard Excalibur.^[1]

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