Military tests unmanned ship designed to cross oceans

The military is launching tests on the world's largest unmanned surface vessel -- a self-driving, 132-foot ship designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board. The so-called "Sea Hunter" has the potential to revolutionize not only the military's maritime service but commercial shipping -- marking the first step toward sending unmanned cargo vessels between countries, according to military officials, who showed off the ship in San Diego on Monday before it was put in the water. The Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, developed the ship along with Virginia-based Leidos. DARPA will test it in conjunction with the Navy over the next two years off California's coast. The tests will largely focus on its ability to react on its own to avoid collisions with seafaring traffic.