Aerospace giant Boeing has released the first video of the U.S. Navy’s 85-Foot Orca unmanned submarine in-sea testing.
“The Navy Orca XLUUV’s full, advanced autonomy allows the vehicle to operate for months at a time in open, congested and contested waters with little-to-no human intervention,” the company said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
Orca is the first of its kind in the uncrewed undersea space for the Navy fleet. Its fully autonomous capabilities are unlike any other maritime vehicle when it comes to ocean exploration and defense.
The Navy’s first Orca vehicle was put into the water to begin at-sea testing in April.
Check out our first released video of Orca XLUUV in-sea testing — with a dolphin pod cameo. 🐬
The @USNavy Orca XLUUV’s full, advanced #autonomy allows the vehicle to operate for months at a time in open, congested and contested waters with little-to-no human intervention. pic.twitter.com/NfELRMteBe
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) July 18, 2023
The Maritime Undersea team is steadily progressing through a risk-reduction test plan, while also performing manufacturing and assembly activities on the second Orca vehicle.
The vehicle’s advanced autonomy enables it to perform at sea for months at a time, delivering a more affordable, mission-capable solution over traditional UUVs.
Boeing has designed and operated manned and unmanned deep sea systems since the 1960s, including Rockwell International legacy systems and U.S. Navy support programs. Prior to Orca, Boeing developed Echo Seeker and Echo Ranger, autonomous and large UUVs as test beds for its current XLUUV.
