Secretive Thunderbirds-style underwater drone is gearing up for action

The Manta Ray prototype in the waters off Southern California (Picture: Northrop Grumman/SWNS)

An underwater military drone has completed testing at sea, and could soon be ready to be deployed – although it has not been revealed where or what for.

The Manta Ray prototype uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) is designed for long-duration undersea missions and includes ‘several payload bays of multiple sizes and types to enable a wide variety of naval mission sets’, offering little insight into the kinds of weapons it will deploy.

The large drone, which bears a striking resemblance to Thunderbird 2 from the 1960s television show, can be transported in piece and reassembled wherever it is needed.

Manufacturer Northrop Grumman say they completed full-scale testing off the coast of Southern California in February and March.

Manta Ray was built through the U.S Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) programme.

Although its future missions have not been revealed, Northrop Grumman describe the vehicle as a ‘new class of UUV, it is an extra-large glider that will operate long-duration, long-range and payload-capable undersea missions without need for on-site human logistics’.

Testing demonstrated at-sea hydrodynamic performance, including submerged operations using all the vehicle’s modes of propulsion and steering – buoyancy, propellers, and control surfaces.

Dr Kyle Woerner, Darpa programme manager for Manta Ray, said: ‘Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing 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, in-field assembly, and subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV.’

Darpa program manager Dr Kyle Woerner overseas testing of the Manta Ray (Picture: Northrop Grumman/SWNS)

Northrop Grumman say they shipped the prototype in subsections from the build location in Maryland to its test location in California. The demonstrated ease of shipping and assembly supports the possibility of rapid deployment throughout the world without ‘crowding valuable pier space at naval facilities’.

‘Shipping the vehicle directly to its intended area of operation conserves energy that the vehicle would otherwise expend during transit,’ said Dr Woerner.

‘Once deployed, the vehicle uses efficient, buoyancy-driven gliding to move through the water.’

The drone can be taken apart for transport and reassembled (Picture: Northrop Grumman/SWNS)

Darpa say they are engaging with the US Navy on the next steps for testing and transition of the technology.

Sea drones are becoming increasingly important to military operations. Ukraine has deployed underwater drones to attack Russian forces following the invasion by Vladimir Putin, and they are also being used to clear the coastline of mines.

Last year, Russia said it had developed high-speed, nuclear-armed underwater drones, capable of reaching 125mph.

Some analysts have predicted the use of underwater drones marks the down of a ‘new age of naval warfare’.

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