It's designed to be completely autonomous, as that will save the agency a bunch of money. Based on the details DARPA previously shared, the US Navy will deploy sonar buoys to give the drone an idea on where to go. After that, the ship will take over, using long/short-range sonar to detect stealthy diesel electric submarines and follow them around for months. Besides hounding foreign submarines, it can also be used for reconnaissance, to deliver supplies to other ships and counter undersea mines.

After ACTUV's unveiling and christening in Portland, Oregon, the agency will start demonstrating its long-range capabilities over the course of 18 months. That's not all Director Prabhakar announced at the media gathering, though. She also talked about DARPA's funding and other projects for 2017, including its plans to "launch 100 satellites in a 10-day period" using its XS-1 reusable aircraft.