'Sea Hunter': World's First Unmanned Ship Stalks Subs

A new hunter is lurking in the deep -- and it's made of metal, silicon, and lots and lots of artificial intelligence. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officially launched its unmanned submarine-hunting ship, holding a christening ceremony on Thursday (April 7) for the "Sea Hunter." The new vessel is part of DARPA's larger initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) for a wider array of military decisions and tasks. The seafaring drone's task is to find and neutralize enemies' ultraquiet diesel submarines, the agency said. While the Sea Hunter, which is part of DARPA's Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program, is not helmed by a human captain, people are still in the loop (at least for now). "Although ACTUV will sail unmanned, its story is entirely about people," Scott Littlefield, DARPA program manager, said in a statement.