The US military’s massive unmanned ‘Manta Ray’ submarine cleared its first sea test [Video]

A US military submarine that looks like a giant metal manta ray and is currently under development passed its first major test at sea.

The unmanned prototype aptly named “Manta Ray” completed “full-scale, in-water testing” off the coast of Southern California in February and March, the Pentagon’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Manta Ray, built by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, is an uncrewed underwater vehicle, a type of drone that can essentially function like a torpedo or small submarine but can also double as a mine.

According to DARPA, the five-year-old Manta Ray program looks to build a “new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs” that can operate in various maritime environments around the world. It didn’t really elaborate further on the function.

Testing earlier this year evaluated the Manta Ray’s different modes of propulsion and steering — its buoyancy, propellers, and control surfaces …