We all live in a yellow submarine…
Boeing’s massive 51-foot Echo Voyager, debuted yesterday, is an outgrowth of their 18-foot Echo Ranger and 32-foot Echo Seeker prototype testbed UUV’s– which were capable of 2-3 day operations– only Voyager would be capable of missions lasting months in theory.
Equipped with a hybrid rechargeable power system and modular payload bay, the midget sub sans crew, according to the video below, can do everything in theory from being a weapons platform, to launching and operating UAVs, to protecting infrastructure (read= smoking frogmen operating near sensitive bases), to submarine decoy, mine countermeasures, ASW search and barrier ops, and battlespace prep– though the video spends a lot of time talking about how it can help with oceanography and oil spills as well.
“Echo Voyager is a new approach to how UUVs will operate and be used in the future,” said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works. “Our investments in innovative technologies such as autonomous systems are helping our customers affordably meet mission requirements now and in the years to come.”
