{"id":9733,"date":"2025-05-17T19:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T19:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=9733"},"modified":"2025-05-17T19:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T19:02:15","slug":"watch-in-a-historic-first-royal-navy-warship-destroys-supersonic-missile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=9733","title":{"rendered":"Watch: In A Historic First, Royal Navy Warship Destroys Supersonic Missile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    Watch: In A Historic First, Royal Navy Warship Destroys Supersonic Missile<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    <!-- no image --><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-300x157.png?resize=300%2C157&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"Watch: In A Historic First, Royal Navy Warship Destroys Supersonic Missile\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;margin-right:10px;width:150px; height:150px;float:left;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-150x79.png 150w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1869364\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1869364\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1869364\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship.png?resize=1200%2C628\" alt=\"warship\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warship-150x79.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1869364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credits: Royal Navy\/X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Royal Navy has successfully destroyed a supersonic missile for the first time during a live-fire test conducted off the coast of Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>On May 15, 2025, Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon launched a modified Sea Viper missile that intercepted and destroyed a high-speed, sea-skimming target in the air.<\/p>\n<p>The test was carried out during Exercise Formidable Shield 25, the largest live-fire military drill in Europe this year. The exercise involves nearly 7,000 personnel from 10 NATO countries, including naval ships, aircraft, ground troops, and command teams.<\/p>\n<p>The first phase of the operation was held at And\u00f8ya firing range in Norway, before moving to the Hebrides range in western Scotland where HMS Dragon\u2019s engagement took place.<\/p>\n<p>During the trial, HMS Dragon fired a telemetry version of the Sea Viper missile. This specially equipped missile was designed to collect important flight data and performance measurements to support future air defence planning.<\/p>\n<p>Just 2.5 seconds after launch, the missile reached speeds over Mach 4, four times the speed of sound, and began executing rapid, high-G manoeuvres that no human could physically endure. These moves allowed it to accurately lock onto and eliminate the fast-moving target.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A Friday fireball courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HMSDragon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HMSDragon<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n<p>In a burst of fire and smoke, the Type 45 destroyer launched a specially-modified Sea Viper missile at an incoming high-speed target which was emulating the kind of advanced threats seen around the globe today.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoyalNavy\/status\/1923404336316445102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The incoming missile being simulated was not a typical aerial threat. It flew at supersonic speed, very close to the sea surface, and carried out unpredictable moves like corkscrews and weaving, replicating the types of advanced weapons that militaries might face in real combat situations today.<\/p>\n<p>The Sea Viper system is a powerful combination of the Sampson radar, located on top of the ship\u2019s mast in the form of a spinning spiked ball, and the Aster missile launcher, which is fitted into the ship\u2019s forward deck. This system scans the skies over vast distances, identifies threats, and takes action when needed.<\/p>\n<p>HMS Dragon\u2019s success in this test also confirmed that the ship\u2019s advanced air defence system remains fully operational following a recent extended maintenance period.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ship\u2019s command, the successful missile launch also demonstrated their readiness to work closely with NATO partners in high-pressure combat scenarios involving multiple threats across air, sea, and land.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1869365\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1869365\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1869365\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy.png?resize=1200%2C628\" alt=\"Royal Navy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Royal-Navy-150x79.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1869365\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credits: Royal Navy\/X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Exercise Formidable Shield 25 includes live missile firings by nearly every participating unit. Naval forces are being tested against various modern threats including drones, subsonic and supersonic missiles, uncrewed systems, and even ballistic projectiles.<\/p>\n<p>A senior warfare officer on board HMS Dragon, currently serving under an exchange program from the Royal Australian Navy, commented that the exercise has been a tough but valuable opportunity for the ship\u2019s crew to sharpen their warfighting skills and operate effectively as part of a larger combat group.<\/p>\n<p>During the live-fire trial, HMS Dragon also worked alongside several other NATO ships engaged in missile launches. While specific operational details remain restricted for security reasons, officials confirmed that all procedures followed the joint objectives of the exercise.<\/p>\n<p>Formidable Shield 25 will continue until May 31, testing allied cooperation and advanced military systems in a realistic and challenging environment.<\/p>\n<p><em>Reference: Royal Navy<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    MI News Network<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/shipping-news\/watch-in-a-historic-first-royal-navy-warship-destroys-supersonic-missile\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=watch-in-a-historic-first-royal-navy-warship-destroys-supersonic-missile\">Go to marine insight<\/a><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch: In A Historic First, Royal Navy Warship Destroys Supersonic Missile Image Credits: Royal Navy\/X The Royal Navy has successfully destroyed a supersonic missile for the first time during a live-fire test conducted off the coast of Scotland. On May 15, 2025, Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon launched a modified Sea Viper missile that intercepted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,196],"tags":[197],"class_list":["post-9733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marine-insight","category-shipping-news","tag-marine-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9733"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9733\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}