By Phil Stewart

PORTLAND, Oregon, April 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. army on Thursday christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a significant advance in robotic warfare on the core of America’s technique to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments.

The 132-foot-long (40-meter-long) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equal of Google’s self-driving automotive, designed to cruise on the ocean’s floor for 2 or three months at a time – with no crew or anybody controlling it remotely.

That form of endurance and autonomy may make it a extremely environment friendly submarine stalker at a fraction of the price of the Navy’s manned vessels.

WATCH: First Look Pentagon’s New Unmanned Sub Chaser

“This is an inflection point,” Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Work stated in an interview, including he hoped such ships would possibly discover a place within the western Pacific in as few as 5 years. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a totally robotic, trans-oceanic-capable ship.”

For Pentagon planners equivalent to Work, the Sea Hunter matches into a method to include unmanned drones – with growing autonomy – into the standard army within the air, on land and at sea.

It additionally comes as China’s naval investments, together with in its increasing submarine fleet, stoke concern in Washington in regards to the vulnerability of the plane service battle teams and submarines that stay crucial to America’s army superiority within the western Pacific.

“We’re not working on anti-submarine (technology) just because we think it’s cool. We’re working on it because we’re deeply concerned about the advancements that China and Russia are making in this space,” stated creator Peter Singer, an skilled on robotic warfare on the New America Foundation assume tank.

Work stated he hoped the ship, as soon as it’s confirmed protected, may head to the U.S. Navy’s Japan-based seventh Fleet to proceed testing.

His purpose is to have ships just like the Sea Hunter working on a spread of missions, probably even together with counter-mine warfare operations, all with restricted human supervision.

“I would like to see unmanned flotillas operating in the western Pacific and the Persian Gulf within five years,” he stated, evaluating the protype ship to early drone plane.

The ship’s projected $20 million price ticket and its $15,000 to $20,000 each day working value make it comparatively cheap for the U.S. army.

“You now have an asset at a fraction of the cost of a manned platform,” stated Rear Admiral Robert Girrier, the Navy’s director of unmanned warfare methods.

RULES OF THE ROAD

Developed by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the ship is about to endure two years of testing, together with to confirm that it might probably safely observe worldwide norms for working at sea.

First and foremost is guaranteeing that it might probably use radar and cameras to keep away from different vessels. Powered by two diesel engines, the ship can attain speeds of 27 knots.

The introduction of more and more autonomous ships and plane is stoking concern amongst some consultants and activists about armed robotic methods that might determine individuals as threats and kill them.

During the christening ceremony in Portland, Work raised the opportunity of sometime positioning weapons on the Sea Hunter.

But he careworn that even when the United States ever decides to arm robotic naval methods equivalent to Sea Hunter, any choice to make use of offensive deadly pressure can be made by people.

“There’s no reason to be afraid of a ship like this,” Work advised reporters on the ceremony. (Editing by John Walcott and Alan Crosby)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.