英首艘無人潛艦「神劍號」登場　開啟自主水下作戰新紀元

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無人潛艦「神劍號」（XV Excalibur）上圖取自Msubs官網

英國皇家海軍5月15日在德文港正式揭曉首艘無人潛艦「神劍號」（XV Excalibur），此艦為「鯨魚座計畫」成果之一，將作為先進技術測試平台，探索新世代無人水下載具（UUV）在海戰中的應用潛力。
On May 15, the Royal Navy unveiled its first unmanned submarine, the XV Excalibur, at Devonport Dockyard. Developed under Project Cetus, the sub will serve as a testbed for future underwater autonomous technologies.

「神劍號」由MSubs公司與英國國防部合作研製，歷時三年打造完成，並於今年初完成泊港與海上性能測試，確保其系統與操作穩定性。
The Excalibur was developed by MSubs in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence over a three-year period. It completed harbor and sea acceptance trials earlier this year to validate its design and systems integrity.

潛艦全長12公尺、寬2公尺、排水量約19公噸，隸屬於英軍新成立的艦隊實驗戰隊（Fleet Experimentation Group），專責無人平台測試與驗證任務。
Measuring 12 meters long and weighing approximately 19 tonnes, the submarine is assigned to the Royal Navy’s new Fleet Experimentation Group, responsible for trialing emerging unmanned maritime systems.

未來兩年內，「神劍號」將進行偵察、掃雷與持續潛航等實驗性任務，不投入實戰部署，而是專注於提升英軍對UUV潛力的理解，並驗證「有人／無人」協同作戰可行性。
Over the next two years, Excalibur will be used in experimental roles such as underwater surveillance and mine countermeasures. It won’t enter operational service but will help evaluate manned-unmanned teaming (MUT) concepts.

英國皇家海軍發展部主任巴金少將表示，「神劍號」代表英海軍邁向自主化與無人化作戰模式的重要里程碑，未來將依測試結果調整無人潛艦建軍策略。
Rear Admiral James Parkin, Director of Navy Developments, noted that Excalibur is a critical step toward autonomy and unmanned operations, shaping how the Royal Navy evolves in the coming decades.

此艦具備長時續航、低可偵性與多元酬載設計，為英軍打造水下新戰力提供關鍵技術參數，也象徵未來水下作戰將從傳統潛艦邁向機器主導的新時代。
With long endurance, low detectability, and modular payload options, Excalibur lays the groundwork for a new underwater combat era—where machines may dominate future maritime operations.