The U.S. Navy intends to strengthen its submarine fleet with a series of six robotic submarines of the “Orca” type from Boeing in the near future. The first of them – XLEO, a test version of the future series, was commissioned on December 20 last year. The other five will be full-fledged combat units designed to penetrate enemy territory for reconnaissance, sabotage and other missions.
“Orca” is a diesel-electric autonomous submarine with a modular section that will house equipment and weapons depending on the mission. It has impressive dimensions: 15, 5 x 2.6 x 2.6 x 2.6 meters, weight 50 tons. Range – about 10500 km, depth of immersion – 335 meters.
Hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system provides a speed of about 15 km/h in the underwater position. Powerful batteries provide “Orca” with a long stay underwater. The 10-meter-long cargo bay is located in the middle part of the robotic submarine.
