The Manta Ray: How America's Futuristic Underwater Drone will Change Warfare.

the world's oceans are a brutal and unforgiving place in the cold murky depths everything is a hunter everything is hunted and one day everything is food from sharks and Barracuda whose teeth can Shear any sort of Flesh to deep diving whales that do battle with Mighty spilop pods in near complete darkness to bioluminescent tricksters that can coax an unsuspecting fish straight up into their mouths there are no shortage of ways to be destroyed in the depths but now a new Predator is emerging from the deep one that's traded in its gills and scales and its

sharp teeth in exchange for Twisted Metal and called robotic intelligence its name is the manta ray a new and futuristic underwater drone that intends to redefine the very nature of underwater warfare Hardy independent and entirely Innovative this newest Dara project is one part an evolution into True Modern Warfare and one part an evolution from the very same creatures that have prowled the depths for so long so today at Mega projects we're going to get as close a look as can of this new piece of Hardware before it Dives back down again toward the seaf Flor

and waits to reemerge where it's least expected the first indicat that the manta ray program ever existed came from a February 2020 news release from America's Department of Defense amidst a rather routine set of announcements giving money to ran for aircraft carrier radar to Black construction for an antenna facility to the Char star drap laboratory for some missile guidance system was one allotted to serve the defense Advanced research projects agency better known around the world as Dara an exceptionally Advanced agency that seeks to be on The Cutting Edge of tomorrow's technology and usually does a

pretty darn good job of it any big checks awarded to a Dara client going to be cause for Intrigue and this one was absolutely no different loed Martin was getting $12 million us for something called the manta ray program phase one what Dara wanted specifically it was quote the research development and demonstration of the manay extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle with an estimated date of completion less than a year after the release was sent out not long after Dara confirmed the program and sprinkled in a few details not only the other companies Dara wanted to work

with but that the manay they were building would be quote long duration long range payload capable Not only was it intended to hang out underwater for a very long time but it could travel quite a bit while doing so and it was even intended to be armed naturally the emergence of a program to design an extra- large unmanned underwater vehicle or uuv basically a drone submarine was caused for some pretty substantial curiosity around the defense World add to that the fact that the program seemed to have a pretty cool even badass name and well what

more could you want for a do project or a mega projects video a good bit more information about the program emerged in the following year in February of 2021 when Dara issued its own press release and announced that the program would be continued partnering with three contractors with loed Martin actually not among them instead Dara was working with the defense giant Northrup griman the Company metran Incorporated and Martin defense Group which is different than docky Martin despite their names being somewhat similar before long northr griin and Martin defense group would be brought into phase two

of program commencing in late 2021 by the time those stage do contracts were handed out darba had already decided to let the public in on what exactly was going on at least in general terms per Dara the objective of the manta ray program was to develop uuvs that could operate not just as an unmanned drone but as an autonomous one the manay would be designed to operate for quote extended durations without the need for on-site human logistic support or maintenance although Dara was vague the program was aimed at addressing issues with energy management for long

endurance underwater drones and in keeping with a drone that was intended to do something that no other platform seemed to be doing at that time it would pick up some extra skill as well those included ways to deal with undersee corrosion avoid obstacles on its own deal with the accumulation of Plants algae and Barnacles that typically happens underwater and a lot more the Drone would be able to detect and classify underwater hazards and quote counter detection threats while responding to changing conditions under the sea critically the role of the Metron company was specified further to

quote Advance progress on a novel energy harvesting subsystem all that is to say they were working on a way to keep the Drone powered up that didn't rely on any traditional power source or any existing method of collecting energy from the environment that was known at that time finally the world even got to see some concept art revealing a Sleek nearly seamless metal craft that if it had been pictured flying in the air would have been perfectly believable as a design for America's Next hyper Advanced stealth bomber underwater though it looked eily like the program's

namesake the manta ray by the end of 2021 it appeared that the manay program was doing very well darer and its partner organizations were already in possession of the technologies that they hoped would allow them to overcome the Myriad challenges manay was supposed to deal with and those Technologies had already been checked out and found to be ready to move on said the program manager for the product Commander Carl wner in late 2021 manta ray is uniquely positioning itself to simultaneously introduce a new class of underwater vehicle while contributing key component Technologies to other vital

undersea programs over the following months and then years Phase 2 would involve the construction and testing of entire full scale underwater Vehicles integrating the requisite Technologies even at that early stage then on April the 8th 2024 North griman dropped the big announcement on that day north of griman unveiled its manay to the world in the form of a full-scale technology demonstrator that demonstrator had already spent months performing fullscale real world testing off the southern coast of California a stretch of sea known for its complex ocean currents its Kel forests its underwater mountains and canyons its

abundant small and large sea life and exceptional amounts of marit time traffic including both large trade vessels and major US Naval assets per Commander Warner the program manager the bentay has passed its testing and confirmed ready to move on toward real world operations the great Metal Beast was now out on the water and if Dara's confidence in the program is any indication then there may be no going [Applause] back now there's a lot that the world doesn't yet know about the manay and with Advanced stages of testing still in progress it stands to reason that

there are probably still things even the manay team doesn't know about the manay at least for now of course unfortunately we won't be able to provide information on things like a top speed and endurance time underwater or the specifics of its internal payload we'd be glad to report those of course but as of now Dara have said that we he a mega projects can't ever a look inside all their secret classified goodies as cool as that would be but we do know something about the manay already these days the manay name refers not just to

the program but the specific prototype put forward by Northrop griman its precise dimensions are as yet unannounced and people connected to the project have been very hesitant on giving these sorts of figures but we know that it's really really big despite issues in establishing perspective in the images that have been released from its testing the uuv appears to be at least a good bit larger than the rigid inflatable dingies and the small observation boats that have pictured around it it's a good bit longer than than it is wide featuring a nearly flat profile when looking

at it straight on its Delta Wings stretch out to either side before tapering into a rounded Wing appearing neither particularly long nor particularly short while at the rear of the UV a vertical tail plane appears to be about 3 to 4 feet tall judging by images that show people standing at top the bay while images haven't yet shown its underbelly we can glean that that's where the propulsion mechanism is likely to be housed considering that only the bare traces of a propulsion system can be observed at the very back of the Drone toward the front

of it the manay features two dark slits almost where you'd imagine the eyes to be although their purpose is unclear the metal plating of the mantta rate does include distinct edges and ridges potentially increasing its profile for Sona detection but whether that represents the finished products or north of griman didn't want to bother with a stealthy Sleek coating for a prototype is unknown like the actual living manay it's UV sister is meant to navigate the ocean during its active phases via a seag glider configuration that should allow it to use less power to move especially

in Long Journeys where not much maneuvering would be required moving efficiently the mantay could conceivably be able to ride ocean currents in times of less urgent need while gliding through the water at a fairly decent clip if it needs to get someplace fast alongside it underwater capabilities we've learned more about how it's moved around on land per Northrup grim and it's designed to break down and fit into five standard siiz shipping containers where it can then be shipped to a deployment location and reassembled in whatever place it's expected to engage in combat and then there's

the question of the Manta Ray's energy harvesting system per northr griman the manta ray is capable of anchoring to the seaf Flor while in a low power dormant State animations of the Manta Ray's perter capabilities show it releasing a harvester device one that seems to draw its energy from currents of the ocean and harvest that energy on behalf of the mantay in reality though the apparatus converts energy from something called the thermal gradient of the ocean the difference in temperature between the ocean's warmer water generally flow closer to the surface and its colder water generally

further Into the Depths as defense expert Alex Hollands put it via sandbox while describing the program quoting here in effect uuvs like the manay can use the thermal energy pod like a gas station returning to fill up any time they onboard stores are running low but the thermal energy pod is just one of the methods that Dara is exploring to power the Manta rade and as far as we can tell our publicly available information the agency hasn't yet decided on which mechanism to use the primary alternative is something called red or reversed electrodialysis which draws

voltage from differences in water salinity or how salty the water is to utilize this method the mantay would leverage a series of compartments separated by specially designed membranes with some compartments holding fresh water and the others holding sea water let the water in each compartment interact in specific ways via separating membranes and they'll actually generate their own electrical currents which the manay can then capture and store perhaps most important of all is the man's ability to go autonomous for long periods of time it's very very hard to transmit messages underwater to the point that most

autonomous underwater vehicles have to either come back to the surface frequently to receive instructions stay close to the source of their instructions or maintain a wired connection to either a crude vessel or a transceiver on the surface but the manate is intended to be survivable underwater for a very long time alternating back and forth between states of anchored dormant recharge and active movement through the water the specifics on how exactly that works and whether the Manta can receive further signals underwater via a mechanism that we don't yet know about are still very hazy but we

do know that it can send messages without coming to the surface by leveraging small devices that northr calls data bubbles that can float back to the surface use a Communications antenna and send information back to command elements while the UV itself continues its work but even a uuv that can just go in communicado for a long stretch of time and still remain functional while carrying out mission objectives would be a major improvements on anything the us or other world nations are known to possess in their arsenals of course there's still one question that looms Above

All Else what is the manay actually intended to do per darer itself around the 2022 and 2023 range the manta's use was more scientific imp purpose than anything else in an interview with the agency's internal voices from Dara podcast series the program manager Carl Werner ands a project advisor focused on potential civilian uses like high Precision sonar mapping of the seaf Flor a place where that as they noted humans have only mapped about 10% of territory at this moment in history they also emphasized the drones potential to help understand the ocean environments and the importance

of having proof of concept that a UV could last longer than a couple of days out on its own but while all of those potential benefits are certainly legitimate ones and while it would undoubtedly be cool to have the manay doing its thing underwater for civilian and research purposes the programs close proximity to the US military plus its leveraging of a major defense contractor have led to zero illus ions in the defense World about what its true purpose probably is northr griman didn't mince words either at around the same time that Dara was talking about

sea Flor mapping the defense giant was publishing its own features on how the mantay could quote address the complex nature of undersea Warfare northr griman emphasizes the man's High payload capacity its ability to create strategic surprise while maintaining its own command control and Communications capability the information it collects will enhance the ability of other War fighting elements to do their work while hypothetically it could carry its own weapons on board for solo missions or even work in concert with other Naval elements in Combined operations although it's not yet in Frontline service the manzer capabilities represent

a major Leap Forward for the United States's capabilities at se as well as an evolution in the nature of Naval Warfare overall here and on our sister Channel War Graphics we've spoken many times about the changing nature of warfare to favor lowcost easyto produce swarms of of drones both in the air and on the water and although price figures on the manta ray aren't known it's clear already that the new uuv has a whole lot to offer in that regard first there's the man's potential use as an offensive weapon where its autonomous survivability grants it

a whole new level of potential utility the payload capacity for the Manta is unknown but given the size of the UV it's likely to be able to pack a good amount of heat that payload could include things like sea mines Torpedoes or even just a big internal bomb that would convert it into a kamakazi drone if need be Ukraine's war against Russia in the Black Sea has proven just how effective surface drones can be when operating on the water and a bigger stealthier drone operating under the water line could be a major threat to surface

vessels if it were to launch similar sorts of attacks steering close to a vessel and then exploding on impact like Ukraine's relatively cheap surface drones can syn expensive Russian warships with hundreds of souls on board the mantay could probably do the same add to that the vessel's capability for both long range and long endurance missions to explain what that's so helpful we'll use a hypothetical a potential conflict between America backing up Taiwan and China playing out in the South China Sea launched that conflict today an American Naval and air Assets in the region will have

to do their best to hold out while reinforcements steam across the Pacific in a way that China could easily track with its own spy satellites but let's say that America launches 100 300,000 maner UVS right now in peace time from the west coast of the United States in their own territorial Waters after a season alsoo spent crossing the Pacific at their own slow nearly undetectable Pace an entire major Fleet of manta rays could loiter off the Taiwanese or even the Chinese Coast undetected popping up to the surface every few weeks and checking in to see

if there's any encrypted message to shift them into Readiness mode and then returning to a dormant state where they could remain basically indefinitely until a crisis ever flared up if it did and a thousand bomb Laden manta rays all came to life with instructions to intercept a Chinese Fleet then that potential War might be over before it begins we should be very clear here that's an imagined hypothetical and one that makes a lot of suppositions about what the manta ray can do and how but even if the Craft's capabilities are different in practice the capacity

for this drone to add massive disruptive elements to a future War are critical to understand anyhow then there's all the things that the manay could offer in an active defense role with potentially the most critical use being submarine detection as the defense expert we quoted earlier Alex Hollands explained the United States currently has very limited capacity to scan its Coastal waters for submarines from foreign Nations and what it would take to build enough ships to fill that role would ultimately be both cost prohibitive and far too slow but produce a high number of man race

and send them on patrol across the waterers outside the US and they could make a really massive difference in informing America about what's going on in its friendly Seas if the US Wishes the manay could monitor threats as they move beaming information back while tracking them almost undetectable in their wake using a trail of data bubbles the mantay can send updates on its location threat it's dealing with and its current course all while seamlessly remaining in pursuit or if neb a manay could conceivably respond with Force attacking enemy submarines while they're deep in the ocean

and susceptible to Quick destruction or stranding because of the intense pressure around them and when taking a broad view of what this platform could be capable of it could have a global impact in seemingly Limitless ways the manay could conceivably be tasked with making secretive deliveries to Special Forces soldiers far a field showing up in the dead of the night at a quiet beach halfway across the world before disappearing again just moments later it could conduct reconnaissance at depth that submarines can't go to and in places where America's full-size Subs are simply too big to

pass undetected swarms of them could operate in companion rolls to individual surface vessels or submarines or even entire fleets hybridizing the US Navy in a similar fashion to the US Air Force it could lay mines it could detect minefields evaluate Maritime emergencies or sneak in close to foreign ports Naval bases in order to conduct reconnaissance and we'd be willing to bet that if these are the potential uses that we can think of then the best Minds at the Pentagon are already several steps ahead at this moment in history it seems clear that the future of

Naval Warfare will have little in common with its past major warships seem day after day to be more a concentration of spent money and vulnerable human lives than expressions of true power and the Nations and the Navies of the world are in the earlier stages of a scramble to compensate but in a new sphere where new tactics and Technologies are emerging constantly the Manta Ray has the potential to put the United States miles ahead of the competition prowling the Deep to deal with the threats of today and prevent or win the wars of tomorrow [Music]