Northrop Grumman Corporation completed assembly of a full-size uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) prototype known as Manta Ray. 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. The Manta Ray can wait on the seabed to intercept nuclear submarines. DARPA’s Manta Ray is an autonomous, uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) that can operate at depths that traditional submersibles can’t reach. The Manta Ray program was launched in 2020 to improve underwater vehicle design and develop techniques to increase payload capacity and conserve energy.
Manta Ray was built through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program aimed at advancing key technologies to benefit future UUV designs, including techniques to manage energy, increased payload capacity, low-power propulsion and more.
Manta Ray aims to develop and demonstrate a new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs ready for persistent operations in dynamic maritime environments. DARPA is engaging with the U.S. Navy on the next steps for testing and transition of this technology.
A second Manta Ray performer, PacMar Technologies, is continuing testing of its full-scale energy harvesting system in 2024.
Seabed Control is a New Domain for the Military
France had a plan to establish seabed control by the 2030s.
Nextbigfuture substack has more details on seabed warfare.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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Wait, are we giving autonomous AI nukes?
Well, if the cost was manageable, a few thousand of these, scattered off the coasts and around the world in sensitive spots, only coming in for periodic maintenance once in a while, would certainly be a game changer. One small aspect of it: A lot of commercial surface shipping could then become autonomous as the pirates and bad-players wouldn’t dare give them a hard time.
I agree autonomous ships and subs are coming. But for autonomous surface ships, I don’t see them defending themselves from pirates and “bad actors”, like a military force w/out having people on board to at least defend said ship. Current and anticipated automation technology (as far as I know) can not yet anticipate the known/unknowns. We don’t yet have robots that can run around a ship and shoot back, and know when they should not. Pirates IMO are not deep thinking strateigists, military people should be.
100% agree that this will bring ‘some balance’ to the dozens if not hundreds of stealthy and loitering WMD subs that belong to all nuclear powers hidden throughout the oceans – though it was unclear whether the intention is for these things to attack their prey rather than just monitor and disrupt; and how they would do that.
A couple of these lying in wait in the Straits of Taiwan might be significant.
I hope you don’t work for China if you say that. And if you do, there are many who will not make that threat happen. No rational person should want war. But we should all know the best way to prevent that is to prepare for it, very, very well. If China can hear this message, hear this: As an American I’m telling you we don’t want to make war with you.
We want to trade with you, learn from you, and have fun with you. And doesn’t THAT make more sense that us killing each other? S***, that works for me.
“No rational person should want war”. Then China needs to stop trying to conquer Taiwan. Until then, we need to militarize the Straight of Taiwan until China understands it cannot bully the world.
You talk like a Hobbit; a western mindset of peace, love and happiness from which grows prosperity, but Sauron has no empathy. To him domination is the only thing that matters, and your mindset is inconcieveable.
Likely depends on how ‘unfindable’/ undetectable/ contactable/ long-term they are, i suppose. Having these things lurk (ideally at or under the mud as their natural analog) for months/years and then ‘wake up’ on a command within minutes for immediate ‘use’ would be significant.
It appears the world of ‘heavy drone’ saturation throughout sea, land, and air may make the world regions difficult to invade going forward – a defence-advantage world. I suppose every country having 1000s of death-dealing drones is a great deterrant and is way better than a Mutually-Assured-Destruction ‘model’ as currently exists. We may be on the verge of an era where military ‘adventures’ become untenable due to mass drone defence at low cost/effort throughout.
I guess Lockheed, Northrop, and General Atomics (best company name ever) are the companies to invest in…
Pretty nifty concept for propulsion: use changes in buoyancy to change potential energy and then the vehicle glides. No moving parts (other than whatever changes the buoyancy).
Sounds like how a hypersonic glide vehicle might work. It manipulates the air around it, w/out input from powered propulsion to control its attitude. Very nifty indeed.
They think the only way to patrol larger patches of seabed is with drones. You can’t use radar.
Internet cables should be protected. Luckily they are mostly deep enough. Otherwise Russians could get some nasty ideas.
always circles back to russia in your head, eh?
Internet cables, like most communication cables of all kinds lie on the floor of the ocean, not buried under the sediment. Anyone who can get down to the ocean floor, can tap into what those cables are “talking about”. Its actually quite expensive to bury cables under an ocean floor, or under the ground, up where we live. That’s why most of our power lines are still above ground, where it would make a lot of sense (like protecting them from nasty weather, or attack) were underground.
But putting all the cables, be they EM (electro-magnetic, based, like using conductive metals like copper, today becoming quite expensive) or using fiber optics which don’t emit EM radiation, are much more difficult to “see” remotely, but not impossible. (Just takes more tech&effort). The key is make our communications our enemy might (and likely will eventually) hear what we don’t care about. and they don’t know what we DO care about.
All technologies will eventually be “figured out” by any enemy. IMO, the way to stay (at best) one step ahead is to apply non-technological solutions, to what are thought of as only technological problems. That involves understanding how sociology, phycology, and history on how it affects our perception of technology, actually “works”.
Our technology works best (IMO) when we imagine it is or could be, not what we know it currently is. Sorry if I sound pontificating, I’ve had a rough, long day…
We don’t run AC power cables under the ocean.
You’re confused who the Real Enemy is. The people running the country are your enemy.
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Our economy is going crazy (in a very good way), the only thing from preventing it from going “crazier” is the lack of what you could call the lack of “second tier” very skilled technical & scientific people, who are UTTERLY critical to support the people at the highest top of the technological scientific food chain. People at that second tier, IMO change and create the future, just by “doing their job”. Usually very quietly.
As an “aside”, people at the second tier of say, our intelligence agencies like the DDCI (Deputy Director Of Central Intelligence) our often long term professionals. Unlike Agency Directors, often political appointments, who come and go. The DDCI, would know the intimate details of how the system works over time. AKA: The really cool stuff…