Leidos,
a U.S. security, health, and infrastructure solutions company, announced
on July 25, that on June 22, it completed initial performance trials
of the technology demonstration vessel it is developing for the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous
Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program. The at-sea tests took place off
the coast of San Diego, California. |
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The 132-foot trimaran,
christened Sea Hunter at a ceremony in April, met or surpassed all performance
objectives for speed, maneuverability, stability, seakeeping, acceleration/deceleration,
and fuel consumption, as well as establishing confidence in mechanical
systems reliability in an open-ocean environment. Sea Hunter is designed
to operate for extended periods at sea with no person on board and only
sparse supervisory control throughout deployment. While initial vessel
tests require a pilot on board the ship, later tests are planned to
have no personnel on board.
The completion of Sea Hunter's performance trials is the first milestone
in the two-year test program co-sponsored by DARPA and the Office of
Naval Research. Testing in upcoming months is scheduled to include testing
of sensors, the vessel's autonomy suite, compliance with maritime collision
regulations, and proof-of-concept demonstrations for a variety of U.S.
Navy missions. |
Leidos has completed initial at-sea performance trials of Sea Hunter,
DARPA's Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Unmanned Vessel, or ACTUV
(U.S. Navy photo)