The Seagull vessel’s test launch of a torpedo in the Mediterranean Sea. Photo: Elbit Systems.

JNS.org – Israel’s Elbit Systems defense company on Tuesday announced a recent successful test launch of a torpedo by its Seagull unmanned sea vehicle.

The test, conducted in the Mediterranean Sea near Haifa, confirmed the Seagull’s ability to fire lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes. The Seagull, a 39-foot-long unmanned surface vehicle, is designed to carry out an array of maritime missions, including securing sensitive sea areas and protecting ships against threats posed by submarines and mines.

Ofer Ben-Dov, vice president Naval Systems Business Line at Elbit Systems’s ISTAR Division, said, “The success of this test demonstrates Seagull’s modular mission system capability, enabling a highly effective anti-submarine warfare configuration of high-performance dipping sonar using two single tube torpedoes. The test highlighted Seagull’s unique capacity to detect and engage submarines, in addition to its ability to detect and destroy sea mines — all using the same multi-mission USV system in modular configurations. This new and important capability has, to date, only been available to navies through manned vehicles.”