A US military robot ship has fired a large missile for the first time

By David Hambling

The US Department of Defense has released footage of an uncrewed ship firing a large missile, in a demonstration of its Ghost Fleet Overlord programme, an initiative to develop robot vessels that can operate alongside crewed warships.

Previous Ghost Fleet operations have focused on endurance missions without human assistance, including the first uncrewed transit of the Panama Canal, but the firing is the first indication that the vessels will be armed.

The SM-6 weapon used in the demonstration is a 1500-kilogram missile travelling at Mach 3.5 with …