![]() On 22 June 2016, Sea Hunter completed initial performance trials, meeting or surpassing all performance objectives for speed, maneuverability, stability, seakeeping, acceleration/deceleration, fuel consumption, and mechanical systems reliability in the open-ocean. ![]() Sea trials and operations Sea Hunter gets underway on the Willamette River following a christening ceremony in Portland, Oregon in April 2016. ![]() įollowing successful initial development, it was reported on 1 February 2018 that DARPA had handed development of Sea Hunter to the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Defense Secretary Robert Work said that if weapons are added to the ship, a human would always remotely make the decision to use lethal force. If tests are successful, future craft of this type may be armed and used for anti-submarine and counter-mine duties, operating at a cost of $15,000–20,000 per day, a fraction of the cost of a destroyer at $700,000 per day (in 2015, equivalent to $864,215 in 2022) it could operate with Littoral Combat Ships, becoming an extension of the LCS ASW module. The craft is expected to undergo two years of testing before being placed in service with the U.S. These devices protect the vessel from damage caused by rope or net caught by the propellers without affecting the vessel's performance. It is fitted with quicKutter shaft protection rope/line cutters from Quickwater Marine in Perth. The ship has a host of non-standard features because of her lack of crew, including an internal layout that offers enough room for maintenance to be performed but not for any people to be permanently present. The system can patrol without human guidance, using optical guidance and radar to avoid hitting obstacles or other watercraft. Operationally, computers will drive and control the ship, with a human always observing and taking charge if necessary in a concept called Sparse Supervisory Control, meaning a person is in control, but not " joy sticking" the vessel around. ![]() Ī removable operator control station is installed during the testing period "for safety and backup" until it can be determined to reliably operate on her own. The trimaran hull provides increased stability without requiring a weighted keel, giving her a higher capacity for linear trajectories and better operations in shallow waters, though the greater width decreases maneuverability. gallons (53,000 L) of diesel, enough "to go from San Diego to Guam and back to Pearl Harbor on a tank of gas." Sea Hunter has a full load displacement of 145 tons and is intended to be operational through Sea State 5, waves up to 6.5 ft (2.0 m) high and winds up to 21 knots (24 mph 39 km/h), and survivable through Sea State 7, seas up to 20 ft (6.1 m) high. Her weight is 135 tons, including 40 tons of fuel, adequate for a 70-day cruise. It is an unmanned self-piloting craft with twin screws, powered by two diesel engines with a top speed of 27 knots (31 mph 50 km/h). The initially unarmed prototype, built at a cost of $20 million, is a 132-foot (40 meter)-long trimaran (a central hull with two outriggers). Sea Hunter is classified as a Class III USV and designated the Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle ( MDUSV). The vessel continues the line of experimental "Sea" ships, including Sea Shadow, Sea Fighter, Sea Jet, and Sea Slice. The ship was christened 7 April 2016 in Portland, Oregon. Sea Hunter is an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) launched in 2016 as part of the DARPA Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel ( ACTUV) program. Sea Hunter under way in RIMPAC 2022 exercisesġ0,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi 19,000 km)
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