Monica Jackson
Leidos’ Sea Hunter autonomous anti-submarine vessel has passed nearly two years of testing with the U.S. Navy and joined the service’s fleet of warships, CNBC reported Wednesday.
The report said almost all of Sea Hunter’s elements are now classified.
Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, vice president and Navy strategic account executive at Leidos, stated that Sea Hunter will be used alongside naval vessels instead of competing with them.
“An autonomous thing does not replace a manned thing it augments. It is not a one for one replacement,†he said.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched the crewless ship in 2016 on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
Since the ship’s christening, Leidos and the Navy have not disclosed any updates on Sea Hunter’s future role.
DARPA contracted Leidos to engineer Sea Hunter under the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel initiative.
The Navy awarded a potential three-year, $43.5 million to the Virginia-based firm in December 2017 to develop a hull structure for the second Sea Hunter vessel.
