Submarines have long been iconic elements of advanced naval fleets, and have also made their mark on the big screen. From “The Hunt for Red October” to “Crimson Tide” and even the ill-fated “Down Periscope,” submarines have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide.
While Hollywood can play at high stakes on the high seas, real-world decisions involving submarines are far from fictional. Just lately, military leadership around the world is investing in the next evolution of underwater deterrence.
Meet the Orca. Although it shares its name with a low-budget 1977 thriller, the similarities end there. This autonomous modular platform, built by Boeing for the U.S. Navy, is a first-of-its-kind vehicle capable of serving in a wide range of mission types in open water.
The Orca measures 51 feet long on its own. When outfitted with Boeing’s largest payload section, which is 34 feet long, the Orca can even stretch to 85 feet.
Powered by a diesel-electric engine, the Orca can travel more than 7,400 miles on a full tank. To put that into perspective, that’s the distance from the coast of southern California to China, making it possible to travel great distances without needing to resupply or carry life support systems.
Technically known as an Extra Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV), the Navy initially ordered four in 2019 before increasing the order to six.
Ann Stevens, Boeing’s vice president of maritime and intelligence systems, explained the significance of this addition.
“The Navy added a sixth vehicle to that contract as a test article, which has been really great because we were able to get that vehicle into the water over a year ago and be able to really start seeing how it’s performing, learning about, you know, the different hardware and software that’s in that vehicle, and putting it through its paces operationally before we deliver the vehicles that’ll get fielded to the fleet,” Stevens said.
These vehicles represent an expanded array of strategic and tactical options for a service increasingly focused on possible threats in the Pacific, particularly from China.
Stevens noted that the Orca will allow the Navy to carry out previously unattainable missions, and change the game in undersea warfare.
“You know, what are the capability gaps that are still elusive to them? And, you know, do we see the potential for this technology to expand to, you know, a vehicle that doesn’t require a host ship, a vehicle that can go, you know, 6,500 nautical miles and traverse the ocean,” She said.
While the hardware of the Orca is well on its way to proving its worth, Army Intelligence Officer Jon Molik emphasized the importance of its autonomous capabilities.
“So what we need to continue to work on is these vehicles being able to do things like conduct a cyber attack or cyber defense at the same time as communicating with the joint fires environment and the GPS and navigation environment,” Molik said, “All of these things have to happen in concert, and that’s again, a challenge to do when it’s fully autonomous. But I suspect that the Navy, as well as all those other services, will get this done in the next few years.”
The Orca also represents the ability to fill areas of need for a branch struggling to modernize and stay ahead of potential adversaries.
“You know, you can see in the news the challenges that we’re facing, you know, building the next ballistic class of submarine, the Columbia, trying to build enough Virginia class submarines, and looking at our near-peer threats and the gap that is there. I feel like this is just a great capability to help complement that gap that we’re seeing right now,” Stevens said of the challenges facing the Navy.
The U.S. is not the only country working to develop XLUUVs. Last November, a team of British engineers successfully demonstrated an autonomous submarine of their own. Built by BAE Systems and called the “Herne,” it has already completed the first set of in-water trials and demonstrations.
Boeing expects to deliver the first Orca to the Navy in early 2025. The Navy will then conduct a series of tests, the crew will gain certification and then the first Orca will finally be mission-ready.
Access the full Weapons and Warfare episode here.
Access all Weapons and Warfare podcast episodes here.
