The US military is developing a massive underwater drone called the “Manta Ray”.
The unmanned system successfully completed its first major test at sea earlier this year.
Drones like the Manta Ray can function as a torpedo, a mine or a small submarine.
A US military submarine that resembles a giant metal manta ray and is currently under development has passed its first major test at sea.
The unmanned prototype, aptly named “Manta Ray,” completed “large-scale in-water testing” off the coast of Southern California in February and March, the Pentagon’s research arm, Defense, said Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in a press release. Wednesday.
The Manta Ray, built by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, is an unmanned underwater vehicle, a type of drone that can essentially function as a torpedo or small submarine, but can also serve as a mine.
According to DARPA, the five-year-old Manta Ray program aims to build a “new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs” that can operate in various maritime environments around the world . It didn’t really clarify the function.
Tests earlier this year evaluated the Manta Ray’s different propulsion and steering modes (its buoyancy, propellers and control surfaces) when submerged at sea.
“Our successful, large-scale testing of the Manta Ray validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections,” said Kyle Woerner, program manager. DARPA for Manta Ray, in the press release.
“The combination of modular cross-country transportation, field assembly and subsequent deployment demonstrates a unique capability for an extra-large UUV,” he added.
One photograph of the Manta Ray shows it sitting next to a support boat, and another shows it with people standing on it. These highlight just how big this drone actually is. Despite its large size, the underwater system can be easily shipped and assembled, DARPA said, allowing the vehicle to be quickly deployed anywhere without crowding the docks of U.S. naval installations.
Additionally, “shipping the vehicle directly to its intended operating area saves energy that the vehicle would otherwise expend during transportation,” Woerner said.
“Once deployed, the vehicle uses efficient, buoyancy-based glide to move across water,” he continued. “The craft is designed with multiple payload bays of multiple sizes and types to enable a wide variety of naval mission sets.”
DARPA said it is working with the U.S. Navy on the next steps in testing the Manta Ray.
The Navy already operates different types of UUVs – alongside unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.
In the Middle East, for example, a first-of-its-kind Navy initiative, known as Task Force 59, aims to merge unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with maritime operations in the region. This program aims to give the United States more surveillance and deterrence options and is becoming an increasingly important task as wars become more reliant on autonomous platforms.
The United States is not the only one operating maritime drones, however; he has seen friends and foes use USVs and UUVs to conduct operations in conflicts in the Red and Black Seas.
In recent months, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attempted to use USVs and UUVs to strike ships off the coast of Yemen. These threats, however, are either destroyed by U.S. and coalition forces in the water or in preemptive strikes on land before weapons can even be launched.
Ukraine, meanwhile, relies heavily on USVs to target Russian warships in the Black Sea. kyiv has had great success with this style of asymmetric warfare, against which Moscow has been unable to defend itself coherently.
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