Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Independent TV

Showing now | News

British warship shoots down supersonic missile in historic first

01:07

Dramatic video shows Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon shooting down supersonic missile

Dramatic video shows a Royal Navy warship shooting down a supersonic missile in a “historic first” for the UK’s defence force.

HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer based in Plymouth, successfully intercepted a high-speed target designed to mimic the advanced weaponry seen in recent conflicts.

The footage shows a burst of fire and smoke as the destroyer uses its Sea Viper anti-air missile system to neutralise the incoming threat, which was capable of complex "corkscrew" and "weave" manoeuvres.

The Sea Viper system enabled the Royal Navy to shoot down a ballistic missile in combat for the first time in 2024.

Up next

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in