Boeing Co. will acquire floating-drone maker Liquid Robotics, the aerospace giant said Tuesday. Based in Sunnyvale, Liquid Robotics developed the Wave Glider, a surfboard-shaped drone that floats on the ocean surface and collects data, propelling itself for up to a year using wave and solar power. In 2014, Liquid Robotics formed a partnership with Boeing to develop a military version of the Wave Glider called SHARC -- the Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft -- that combines Liquid Robotics' platform with Boeing's sensor technology. Boeing said it sees the SHARC as a way to connect intelligence-gathering efforts between underwater vehicles, aircraft and satellites. Liquid Robotics' headquarters will remain in Sunnyvale, though the company will be part of Boeing's autonomous systems unit, which is based in St. Louis.

This fall, an unusual vessel will begin sea trials off the coast of California. The 51-foot-long Boeing Echo Voyager will have no crew. It will glide underwater for days or weeks, quietly collecting data from the ocean floor to send back to crews on ships or on land. Ever since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the U.S. military has relied more and more on flying drones to take on dangerous air missions. But increasingly, drones are taking to the sea as well.

This fall, an unusual vessel will begin sea trials off the coast of California. The 51-foot-long Boeing Echo Voyager will have no crew. It will glide underwater for days or weeks, quietly collecting data from the ocean floor to send back to crews on ships or on land. Ever since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the U.S. military has relied more and more on flying drones to take on dangerous air missions. But increasingly, drones are taking to the sea as well.