British warship shoots down supersonic missile in ‘historic first’ for Navy

One of Britain’s most advanced warships successfully shot down a supersonic missile in a major step forward for the Navy’s defence capabilities.

HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, launched a specially-modified Sea Viper missile which hunted down a target flying at four times the speed of sound (Mach 4) in a test exercise on Thursday.

The ‘supersonic sea skimming’ target ducked and dived in sophisticated corkscrew and weaving manoeuvres designed to dupe a warship’s defence systems.

Guided by HMS Dragon’s Sampson radar system, which tracks airborne objects across thousands of cubic miles of airspace, the ship’s missile accelerated over Mach 4 in two-and-a-half seconds and destroyed the target high above water.

Officials said this was ‘the first time in Royal Navy history this has been achieved’.

‘The successful Sea Viper firing as part of Formidable Shield 25 is a huge moment for HMS Dragon,’ Commander Iain Giffin, HMS Dragon’s Commanding Officer, said.

‘Not only does it prove that Dragon’s world leading air defence capability functions as it should following an extensive maintenance period, but it also proves our ability to integrate and operate alongside NATO allies and partners.

‘Training alongside ships, aircraft and land forces from 11 nations in this complex, multi-domain exercise ensures that we maintain our fighting edge against evolving Hi and Low-tech threats.’

Exercise Formidable Shield 25 is an ongoing multinational exercise involving 7,000 personnel from 11 Nato nations.

It is focused on air and missile defence from both ships and land-based systems.

It began at a firing range in Norway and is currently off the coast of Scotland in the MOD’s Hebrides deep-sea firing range.

The Sea Viper acheivement was praised by Lieutenant Commander Sarah Kaese, Senior Warfare Officer on HMS Dragon on exchange from the Royal Australian Navy.

‘Formidable Shield has been both a significant challenge and opportunity for Dragon to come together as a warfighting unit and integrate into a task group developing air defence capability,’ Lt Cdr Kaese said.

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