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The signature Northrop Grummanknown among other things as a provider of military technology for the United States Army, showed several videos that allow us to see the first prototype of its UUV, the acronym for unmanned underwater vehicle: a underwater drone that looks like a stingraywhich he first showed in April of this year, and which is in fact called Manta Ray.
According to the company, it is “an extra-large glider that will operate long-duration, long-range, payload-capable underwater missions without the need for on-site human logistics. The vehicle was designed at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (better known as Darpa), which sought:
The Manta Ray underwater drone is not a secret, but it is not that the US government is showing it everywhere: if it were not for the photos or videos published by its manufacturer, little would be known about it… except for a receipt Achilles: In February and March of this year that drone was moored, on the surface, in a Californian port. And just at that moment a satellite passed overhead and He took a beautiful photo that can be seen on Google Mapsand that allows us to have a complete understanding of the size of this ship.
As published by the company, “the tests demonstrated hydrodynamic performance at sea, including submerged operations using all propulsion and steering modes of the vehicle: buoyancy, propellers and control surfaces.”
“The Manta Ray program made significant advances in the development of autonomous underwater vehicles with the capacity to load and operate without human intervention“said Kyle Woerner, Manta Ray program manager, in 2022, when the project became known. After evaluating various designs in an initial stage, the selected contractors will be in charge of manufacturing and testing the scale models of these underwater drones with which the United States seeks to develop its underwater domain.
Last May, Woerner added, in another statement: “Our successful full-scale test of Manta Ray validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections. “The combination of cross-country modular transportation, field assembly and subsequent deployment demonstrates a unique capability for an extra-large UUV.”
This robot could be used in underwater mapping missions, submerged mine detection or in passive surveillance, taking advantage of its ability to camouflage itself with the environment and remain on standby until its activation is necessary.
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