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DARPA drone ship completes initial performance trials

Written by Nick Blenkey
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150 ft technology demonstrator was built by Vigor Industrial

JULY 25, 2016 — Initial performance trials of DARPA’s sub-hunting super drone technology demonstration vessel were completed June 22, reports Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), which led the team that designed and built the vessel, being developed for DARPA’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program.

The at-sea tests took place off the coast of San Diego, California.

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.
LEIDOS says that 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.

Sea Hunter was built in Portland, OR, by shipbuilder Vigor Industrial

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