According to USNI News, the US Navy has officially received the Sea Hunter Unmanned Vessel
The ship is said to be capable of handling Russian Kilo submarines
This procurement decision was made in response to the growing danger of Russian submarines across most waters
The decision to hand over the Sea Hunter to the US Navy is made after the ship has completed all sea trials over the past four years, with necessary modifications
Sea Hunter was previously scheduled to be operational in 2018, but has been delayed due to some incomplete features
In addition to sea reconnaissance capabilities, Sea Hunter is also equipped with a variety of lethal weapons to expand its mission list
while maintaining the ship's design, said US Navy leader Ray Mabus
Sea Hunter was launched in 2016 as part of the DARPA Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program built by Vigor Industrial.
The cost for the original prototype was about $ 120 million, excluding the weapons (Sorry for reading $20M)
Her full load displacement is 145 tons, with a length of 40 m (132 ft ).
The Sea Hunter is classified as an unmanned self-piloting craft, with twin screws
She is equipped with two Diesel engines, allowing her to reach a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h).
Travel endurance is 70 days, cruising range is "transoceanic," 10,000 nautical miles at 12 knots
Sea Hunter is intended to be operational through Sea State 5, waves up to 2 m high and winds up to 21 knots, and survivable through Sea State 7
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
Operationally, computers will drive and control the ship, with a human always observing and taking charge if necessary
It can patrol without human guidance, using optical guidance and radar to avoid hitting obstacles or other watercraft
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
She is fitted with devices protect the vessel from damage caused by rope or net caught by the propellers
without affecting the vessel's performance
In terms of combat features, Sea Hunter can combine with anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft
such as the P-8 Poseidon or MQ-4C to detect and attack enemy submarines
To hunt for targets, Sea Hunter is equipped with the Raytheon Scalable (MS3) sonar module system
This system is designed to find, detect, filter passive threats, locate and track targets without human control
The MS3 system can also accurately classify various enemy submarines
The MS3 allows for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and underwater combat in both active and passive modes
detecting torpedoes and providing warnings and avoiding collisions with small objects
With the features of this submarine hunter, the United States believes that the most advanced enemy submarines will be exposed
Along with sonar equipment, Sea Hunter is appreciated for its very good stealth ability
helping her to operate effectively in shallow seas, bays or areas with a lot of coral reefs, which are ideal shelters for diesel-electric submarines
The commissioning of the US Sea Huner is believed to be a move that demonstrates the country's military potential over rivals
especially Russia and China