HMS Queen Elizabeth tests her weapons in 'attack of the killer tomato'

The crew of the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has been testing out her Phalanx weapon system in an exercise that it calls 'the attack of the killer tomato'.

The drill involves throwing large red inflatable objects overboard and using them for target practice at sea.

The exercise is playfully named 'the attack of the killer tomato' after the 1978 American parody film, 'the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'.

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Once the target is placed in the water, the crew uses the Phalanx system to fire at it until the target has been 'neutralised'.

The Phalanx weapon system, designed by Phalanx Missiles and Defences, is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled, radar-guided gun that can defeat anti-ship missiles and other close-in threats on land and at sea.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is armed with three Phalanx systems, with each one capable of firing a 1,550-round magazine at 4,500 rounds per minute, with an effective range of approximately 9km.