Boeing creating next evolution in undersea warfare for US Navy.

Suffice it to say that over the last year, Boeing has been really taking some Hard Knocks, but things might be turning around just a little bit.  

Meet the Boeing Orca project. In military speak, it would be called an autonomous modular platform. OK, it's a drone. It's an underwater drone. However, it's a very capable and very expensive underwater drone. 

First off, this is a big hummer, over 51 feet long and it can be modified in the center section to make it even longer, up to 85 feet. It uses an electric motor powered by a diesel engine and has a range of approximately 7400 miles. With that kind of range, it can travel almost halfway around the world, and it can do it without the need for life support systems for human beings because “they ain't no room for people in there”. 

Keep in mind this thing still needs air though, or at least oxygen, because it needs to burn that diesel somehow. I can only assume that it has some kind of snorkel. If you look at the photos, you'll see that there is some kind of boom attachment on the top. 

Boeing calls this an extra-large uncrewed Undersea vehicle. (ELUUV) The navy is buying six of these things and in my brief search on the Internet, I could not find a projection of what these units' cost. (Do I really want to know?) Back in 2019 the Navy gave Boeing 43 million to build 4 of the things but there is no indication of what they cost now.

Boeing has been running proof of concept on this model for over a year, and it's pretty obvious that it's going to be a good addition to the Navy fleet, however some in Naval intelligence insist that its ability to be autonomous is going to be more valuable. 

The United States is not the only country that is investing in the ELUUV Concept. Great Britain has just run the first sea trials on their version called the Hearn. 

Boeing is expecting to deliver the first ORCA to the US Navy sometime in 2025. 

Check please. 

Boeing's Orca, the next evolution in submarine warfare? | Watch