An incoming anti-ship missile detected even a dozen miles away can be safely shot down only by a robot, says Frank Biemans, head of sensing technologies for the Goalkeeper automatic ship-defence cannons made by Thales Nederland.

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Ark Royal was recently sold for scrap by the Ministry of Defence, following its sister ship HMS Invincible.

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The 7, 350-tonne ship is designed to provide air defence cover.

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Nick Brown, editor-in-chief of the influential military journal Jane's International Defence Review, said the Yakhont was "a real ship killer".

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But since such a ship would be of limited use in coastal defence, coming clean might cause even more concern.

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He has been criticised over a scandal on a military training ship which led to a mutiny - bringing the charge from opponents that his defence ministry is out of control.

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