Boeing rolls out new autonomous submarine

The 51-foot Echo Voyager requires no on-board crew, and can operate autonomously for months at a time, thanks to a hybrid rechargeable power system. Photo courtesy Boeing. The 51-foot Echo Voyager requires no on-board crew, and can operate autonomously for months at a time, thanks to a hybrid rechargeable power system. Photo courtesy Boeing. Photo: Pinner Paul, Courtesy Boeing Photo: Pinner Paul, Courtesy Boeing Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Boeing rolls out new autonomous submarine 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Boeing unveiled Thursday its latest submarine, a crew-less undersea vehicle capable of operating all on its own for months at a time.

The 51-foot Echo Voyager uses a hybrid rechargeable system to run for months autonomously, and can also be launched and recovered without the kind of support ships usually necessary for unmanned, undersea vehicles, or UUVs, Boeing said in a news release.

"Echo Voyager is a new approach to how UUVs will operate and be used in the future," said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works, in the release. "Our investments in innovative technologies such as autonomous systems are helping our customers affordably meet mission requirements now and in the years to come."

The new UUV has the ability to collect data, rise to the surface and transmit that data back to researchers "in a near real-time environment," said Lance Towers, Sea and Land, Boeing Phantom Works, in the release. Cutting out the need for ships and crews to operate the sub will lower the operating costs, he added.

Echo Voyager joins the 32-foot Echo Seeker and the 18-foot Echo Ranger in Boeing's UUV family, and will begin sea trials this summer off the California coast, the company said. Boeing has designed and operated both manned and unmanned submarine systems since the 1960s, according to the release.

We reported last year when Boeing sought a patent for a drone that would operate in both air and water, with the idea that it would fly and then dive into water, possibly with some parts coming off at impact.

Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.