A futuristic new underwater drone has completed its first full-scale sea test. The Manta Ray uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) built by aviation giant Northrop Grumman is part of a US Navy project aimed at developing long-range underwater drones capable of carrying payloads for long periods of time.
Dr Kyle Woerner, program manager for Manta Ray at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), said the successful, full-scale testing confirms the vehicle’s advance towards real-world operations after rapid assembly in the field from modular subsections.
According to Northrop Grumman, the giant craft is capable of anchoring itself on the ocean floor and hibernating in a low-power mode.
Northrop Grumman won the £33million ($41.2m) contract to produce and test a UUV prototype for the second phase of a DARPA-funded project in 2021.
The Manta Ray prototype was built in Maryland and shipped in parts to a location in California where it underwent tests in February and March.
Besides the United States’ efforts to develop UUVs, Britain also unveiled plans in 2022 for the Royal Navy to add a new robot submarine to its hardware within two years.
Cetus will be able to cover up to 1,000 miles in a single mission with plans for the vessel to work alongside Astute-class attack submarines.
Russia‘s state news agency TASS announced in January that the first set of Poseidon nuclear capable super torpedoes had been produced.
Poseidon has been described as capable of triggering radioactive tidal waves which would render coastal communities uninhabitable.
Moscow claims the mini-sub can hit 100 knots and its propulsion system gives it a range of 6,200 miles. Ukraine has also developed UUVs for use in its war with Russia in the Black Sea.
Russia has claimed in the past to have repelled Ukrainian UUV attacks on the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in Crimea.
North Korean state media reported in January that the country carried out a test of its own underwater nuclear weapons system in a protest against joint military drills by South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
The test of the Haeil-5-23 system was conducted in the waters off North Korea’s east coast, KCNA reported, without giving a date.
Alex Thompson 
Jamie Roberts
Could this new drone technology potentially revolutionize underwater warfare capabilities worldwide?