Leidos assists DARPA on autonomous prototype unmanned vessel

Leidos Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Krone joined a group of senior officials from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Thursday to christen the prototype vehicle from DARPA’s anti-submarine warfare continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACTUV) program.

Leidos was a leading participant in designing and building the vessel, which has been dubbed “Sea Hunter.” The organizations involved are hoping that the autonomous vehicle will be able to travel thousands of kilometers on the open seas for month at a time under only sparse, remote supervisory control.

“ACTUV could enable future capabilities that would greatly extend our customers’ ability to cost-effectively monitor the maritime environment while keeping our servicemen and women safe,” Krone said. “This event showcases exciting advances in autonomous technology, and highlights our open architecture approach and extensive testing that has made ACTUV a reality.”

Leidos began construction of the Sea Hunter in 2014. It has a modular trimaran design with enhanced stability in all kinds of weather and incorporates a diverse sensor suite, including sonar, electro-optical and long-range radars. ACTUV’s autonomy suite has already demonstrated the capability to operate the ship in compliance with maritime laws and conventions for safe navigation.