The U.S. Navy will test an 80-tonne Orca unmanned submarine this summer equipped with a 34-foot payload module for covert mines and other cargo operations. This was stated by the head of the Navy’s unmanned naval systems program, writes Captain Scott Searles, Sea Power Magazine.

According to the representative of the US Navy, five such devices are being built by Boeing, and the first tests took place in April. Due to their large size, vehicles will be transported from naval bases, not submarines. Searles promised that the US Navy would receive them within five years.

The diesel-electric submarine can speed up to 15 kilometers per hour under water at a depth of 3.3 thousand meters. Orca’s main task will be the laying of mines. It is also expected to be able to launch cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles and use onboard torpedo weapons against enemy submarines.