Boeing has developed an autonomous, unmanned, underwater vehicle -- Echo Ranger -- that can dive 10,000 feet below the ocean's surface to perform a variety of long-endurance, deep-dive missions. Echo Ranger recently recorded its first autonomous surface exit as it dove 40 feet below the surface of the Pacific on a pre-programmed course. It later maneuvered to a depth of 400 feet -- all the while sending telemetry to Boeing Marine Systems engineers on tracking boats on the surface above. Echo Ranger is 18.5 feet long, weighs more than five tons and is capable of traveling up to eight knots and as far as 80 miles without resurfacing.
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