The first Orca Extra Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) was delivered to the United States Navy by Boeing following the completion of acceptance testing earlier this month. The XLUUV, which the Navy has dubbed “Orca,” is a new breed of autonomous submarine capable of carrying out vital operations for extended periods. These missions are designed to gain maritime dominance in contested waters and surroundings that are constantly changing.
Orca has been put through several rounds of testing at sea with the United States Navy. These phases have included above and below-surface manoeuvres designed to demonstrate the vehicles’ exceptional capabilities.
Boeing has more than fifty years of experience in the construction and operation of underwater vehicles, and Orca is the outcome of that experience. Echo Voyager, a proof-of-concept XLUUV that began at-sea testing in 2017, was a predecessor to the Orca XLUUV competition that the United States Navy was conducting. Boeing initiated the Echo Voyager’s design and development in 2012. Echo Voyager, the only vehicle of its size and capacity in the world, has been operating at sea for more than 10,000 hours and has travelled hundreds of nautical miles without human intervention.
