Futuristic U.S Navy’s stealth boat spotted during sea trials

Futuristic U.S. Navy stealth attack boat was spotted during sea trials off the coast of Virginia Beach.

A continues of development test of the newest stealth attack boat, commonly known as M80 Stiletto, was seemingly confirmed when one was spotted making its way off the coast of Virginia on July 8.

Maritime specialist with nicknamed WarshipCam tweeted images of Pentagon’s stealthy little experimental ship.

- ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW -

The unique craft, ultra-fast and it can go places other vessels can’t. The M80 is produced by American marine engineering contractor, the M Ship Company, as an experimental testbed ship for The Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation. It is notable for its innovative Pentamaran hull design and advanced carbon fiber composite construction.

According to military.com, the Stiletto was developed for high-speed military missions in the shallow water areas of littoral, and near-shore waters in support of the Navy’s office of force transformation. No other hull compares to its speed, ride quality, payload capability and unmanned vehicle support.

The Stiletto is the largest vessel ever built for the U.S. government of advanced composite material (carbon fiber) for reduced weight and increased stiffness.

At full speed, the 88-foot Stiletto at 70 miles per hour, or 60 knots and can travel about 500 miles on one tank of gas.

The M80 Stiletto provides a stable platform for weapon launching at any speed, based on air lift in outboard planning tunnels. It is also capable of a high-speed tight flat 360° turn with less than 10% loss of vessel speed.

Readers who wish to follow our weekly coverage can subscribe to the Weekly Defense Roundup.

If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let us know by using the online form.

Executive Editor
  • In this story
  • USA

Support The Defence Blog

Independent reporting takes resources. Join us on Patreon.

Become a patron

More Like This

X-Bow pushes rocket motor output past 1,100 units

X-Bow Systems said Monday it has delivered more than 1,100 solid rocket motors, a sharp production milestone for a U.S. defense market trying to...

U.S. Navy tests 3D-printed fix to get fighter jets flying faster

Engineers at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division and Fleet Readiness Center Southwest built a 3D-printing method that lets sailors repair cracked composite...

Colorado engineers tapped to help design U.S. Air Force’s rocket cargo system

A two-person engineering firm in a small Colorado town just picked up a $4.3 million contract to help the Air Force answer a question...

U.S. Space Force funds system that warns troops about incoming missiles

Northrop Grumman secured a $49 million contract from U.S. Space Systems Command to provide sustainment services for the Joint Tactical Ground Station, a network...

Boeing wins $50M to extend AGM-86 nuclear cruise missile

Boeing secured a $49.5 million contract from the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center on June 30, 2026, to remanufacture the electronic flight controllers and...