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The future of submarine warfare floated past Longview Friday afternoon.

The Sea Hunter, the U.S. Navy’s prototype of a new class of unmanned antisubmarine ship, was towed down the Columbia River from the Portland shipyard where it was built. It is bound for San Diego, where it will undergo two years of sea trials.

The 132-foot, 145-ton vessel will track submarines for as long as three months at a time. Computers will drive and control the ship, although humans will always be observing its movements and can take charge remotely, if necessary.

“The human being is in control, but not joy-sticking the vessel around,” Navy program Manager Scott Littlefield said in a Defense Department press release. “It’s not just a remote-controlled boat.”

The exotic-looking vessel is made of composite materials and resembles a Polynesian war canoe, with two outboard pontoons. It will carry no weapons and is exclusively meant to track submarines.

The Navy estimates that Sea Hunter will cost $22 million to $23 million, but it expects future boats in the series to cost about $20 million.

“It’s not cheap, but not as expensive as a manned warship,” Littlefield said.

Sea Hunter was built in the Leidos shipyard on Swan Island and is being towed to San Diego by Pacific Tug Boat Services.

The Daily News, Longview, Wash.

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