Echo Voyager

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Boeing's 51 ft diesel-electric extra-large autonomous submarine demonstrator that led to the Navy's Orca XLUUV.

Echo Voyager is Boeing's extra-large unmanned undersea vehicle demonstrator and the direct ancestor of the U.S. Navy's Orca XLUUV. The base vehicle is 51 ft (15.5 m) long and weighs about 50 tons, and a modular section up to 34 ft long can be added to carry around 8 tons of sensors or other payloads, taking it to roughly 85 ft. A hybrid diesel and lithium-ion system lets it surface periodically to recharge, giving a published range of 6,500 nautical miles with one fuel module and the ability to operate for months without human contact. It dives to about 11,000 ft, cruises efficiently at 2.5 to 3 knots, and uses forward-looking sonar and a Doppler velocity log to follow the seabed. Boeing used it to prove long-endurance autonomy before building Orca.

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Boeing product sheet: 51 ft (15.5 m) without payload or 85 ft (25.9 m) with the 34 ft payload section, about 50 tons in air, 11,000 ft depth (converted to 3,350 m), 6,500 nm range with one fuel module (converted to 12,038 km), and 8 kn maximum. A diesel engine recharges lithium-ion batteries at the surface, giving about 150 nm between recharges.