It sounds like science fiction: an unmanned warship patrolling the seas, autonomously searching for enemy submarines. But DARPA is in the business of bringing science fiction ideas to life, and a robotic ship like that is just what the defense research agency plans to launch this April, reported National Defense magazine. The ACTUV (a questionable acronym formed from "Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel") is a 130-foot, 140-ton vessel that, when it departs the coast of Portland, Oregon on April 7, will be the largest autonomous surface vehicle ever deployed.
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