First contracts for manta ray project

The US research agency Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has selected three companies with which it intends to drive forward the Manta Ray project. Northrop Grumman Systems and the Martin Defense Group will drive forward the development work for a complete system. Metron has been commissioned to research an innovative subsystem that enables the generation of energy under water.
The research programme initiated by Darpa has been running since the beginning of 2020. The long-term goal is to develop an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that can carry out long-duration missions with a payload at a great distance from a base and without human intervention or support. Many fundamental problems still need to be solved before realisation. These include energy management, reliability over a long period of time, prevention of fouling on the object, corrosion control, underwater navigation and navigating around obstacles under the sea surface.
The Manta Ray reached its first milestone earlier this year when the first preliminary design proposals were submitted to Darpa. The selected companies will continue to finalise their proposals. As soon as the development is sufficiently advanced, one or more test vehicles will be built, which will then be extensively tested and further improved. The project is clearly in line with the US Navy's intention to make greater use of unmanned and autonomous vehicles in the foreseeable future. The aim is to protect and relieve personnel. It is also hoped that this will make life easier financially and increase flexibility.

Text: mb; Graphic: Darpa