The military is about to begin testing an unmanned Naval ship that was designed to cross oceans without a single crew member on board.
The 132-foot "Sea Hunter" was on display in San Diego Monday. It will next sail to a Naval base for testing and seaworthiness, reports the
Associated Press.
If all goes well, the ship will be able to ditch its human crew that's on board for testing and sail on its own for months at a time. The project was a partnership between the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and Leidos.
"For our military operations we want to make sure we have unmanned vessels like this to supplement the human mission so that we're not putting people unduly in harm's way," DARPA spokesman Jared B. Adams said.
Program manager Scott Littlefield said the ship will not be controlled remotely. Rather, commands will be inputted into its computer and the diesel-powered ship will do everything by itself.
The ship was built off the coast of Oregon and was then moved to San Diego on a barge. It has a top speed of 30 mph. It cost $120 million to build but DARPA said additional ships would only be $20 million to build.
The news of the unmanned ship comes weeks after the
Pentagon announced it will cut some of its "top heavy" military leadership.