TECH

American agency DARPA begins a new phase for the creation of underwater drones with greater autonomy and survival capacity

The US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced the transition to the second phase of the Manta Ray (“Scat Manta”) program to create underwater drones with greater autonomy and survivability. The program started in March 2020 and has recently passed an important milestone. DARPA has identified the winners of the first phase of the program and signed a contract with them for the second phase, during which full-scale prototypes of underwater drones will be created for testing at sea.

For the first phase of the Skat Manta program, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Navatek were selected (six months later, Navatek will be renamed the Martin Defense Group). The first phase included the development of the overall design of autonomous underwater vehicles and the critical review of the designs. Lockheed Martin, as it turned out, did not qualify. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group (formerly Navatek) are admitted to the second phase of the program.

During the second phase of the program, each company will work on drone subsystems and ultimately create a full-scale prototype for further testing at sea. After that, one or both will be allowed to test drones offshore.

It should be said that underwater drones under the Manta Ray program will be created with the goal of significantly increasing maintenance-free battery life. For that, the project foresees the development of a material for the body and parts with greater resistance to corrosion and with the prevention of biological growth in the marine environment. A power plant with autonomous electricity generation is also being developed for drones. Finally, on-board electronics must be economical enough to consume without sacrificing computing resources powerful enough for navigation and observation.

Image source: DARPA