Kacey Roberts
Northrop Grumman has revealed the unmanned underwater vehicle demonstrator it is building in support of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program that aims to develop a new class of UUVs.
The company said Monday the Manta Ray UUV is envisioned to be able to conduct long-range missions, carry large payloads, recharge autonomously using energy from its environment and feature a command, control and communications capability.
Alan Lytle, vice president of strategy and mission solutions at Northrop, said the ability of Manta Ray to provide payloads from the sea is “a critical component” for underwater combat operations and the Department of Defense’s Joint All Domain Command and Control strategy.
The ongoing UUV development is for the $41.2 million Manta Ray Phase 2 contract that Northrop secured from DARPA in December 2021. The Manta Ray program was initially launched in 2020.
