{"id":50660,"date":"2024-05-02T18:23:56","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T18:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/02\/northrops-colossal-manta-ray-underwater-drone-passes-at-sea-tests\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:44:17","slug":"northrops-colossal-manta-ray-underwater-drone-passes-at-sea-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2024\/05\/02\/northrops-colossal-manta-ray-underwater-drone-passes-at-sea-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Northrop\u2019s colossal Manta Ray underwater drone passes at-sea tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Northrop Grumman\u2019s massive Manta Ray underwater test bed completed at-sea trials this year, validating its ability to operate below the waves and with minimal human contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a photo first shared with C4ISRNET, the prototype is seen just below the surface of the water, with one fin and part of its almond-shaped body breaking through. The grey unmanned underwater vehicle<\/a> \u2014 considered to be \u201cextra large,\u201d in military parlance \u2014 dwarfs the boat trailing it as well as the person aboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those working on the secretive project declined to provide specific measurements about its size, but said the UUV is modular. It was separated into pieces on the East Coast and shipped cross-country where \u201ca small team was able to reassemble the vehicle on a standard Navy concrete pier using only common support equipment and a single crane,\u201d according to Brian Theobald, a principal investigator and chief engineer at Northrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it is striking in its size and scale, even for those folks that have been there throughout the design process,\u201d he said in an interview<\/a> May 2. \u201cWe see everything in model-based views, in CAD, et cetera, and it\u2019s not until you see it actually built, full scale, that it truly hits home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its first dunk and subsequent trials off the coast of California revealed \u201cno leaks or ground faults or other build issues,\u201d he added. \u201cI think we can all relate: Water is going to go into every single crevice and place that it can get to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northrop\u2019s offering is years in the making. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency<\/a> in 2020 kicked off the program with the thought of creating a large underwater drone that can operate independently of manned vessels and ports once underway. It was also meant to shepherd critical tech for a new class of what the agency called \u201cpayload-capable UUVs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northrop last month teased its prototype during the Sea-Air-Space naval conference in Maryland. The image the company shared was darkened and showed little more than its rounded nose and glider-like body.<\/p>\n\n\n\t