Sea Hunter, an autonomous surface vessel that can patrol with no crew onboard for months at a time, recently completed a round trip from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship is a 132-ft. trimaran that was developed by DARPA, built by Leidos and turned over to the Office of Naval Research last year for testing. Its purpose is to autonomously hunt submarine vehicles and change the way antisubmarine warfare is conducted. The vessel is part of DARPA’s anti-submarine warfare continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACTUV) program.

A sister ship is currently under construction: “The ONR has already awarded Leidos a potential $43.5 million contract to develop Sea Hunter II, which is currently under construction in Mississippi. The sister ship will be evolved based upon lessons learned during the first Sea Hunter build, evolving mission requirements and further development of autonomy enhancements.” (The Maritime Executive)

Watch the Sea Hunter concept video, a time lapse film of the vessel’s construction and highlights from the vessel’s speed and maneuverability tests below.