A fourth company, Metron Inc., was chosen to work specifically on undersea energy harvesting technologies. Three of the awardees – Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, and Martin Defense Group, LLC (then Navatek, LLC) – were selected to work on the overall Manta Ray platform.

The initial proposers day session was classified at the SECRET level, and potential proposers had to hold, at minimum, an active SECRET clearance to attend.Īfter reviewing submitted proposals, in March of 2020, DARPA awarded contracts to four companies to work on the Manta Ray program. Some of DARPA’s requirements for Manta Ray are classified and remain unknown. In the spring of 2019, the Manta Ray program began when DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office hosted a proposers day meeting expressing the agency’s need for a novel extended range UUV platform. Manta Ray concept art (Image Source: DARPA) the desperate need for naval drones One of the most critical components of Manta Ray is the development of new undersea energy harvesting techniques that could end up having an immense impact on all sectors of the naval and maritime industry. With Manta Ray, DARPA hopes to field a payload-capable UUV able to operate for long-duration, long-range missions in ocean environments.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced three prime contractors’ selection to advance the development of a new unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) codenamed: Manta Ray.

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