U.S. Navy has an underwater drone that looks, moves like a shark

San Francisco Gate | December 17, 2014
If you're afraid of sharks and paranoid about drones, you probably should avoid the ocean. The U.S. Navy now has an unmanned underwater vehicle called "Ghost Swimmer" that looks and moves like a shark, according to a Navy news release.

The device, developed under Project Silent NEMO which explores possible uses for underwater drones, weighs almost 100 pounds and measures five feet long — or about the size of an average tuna fish.

Ghost Swimmer can reach depths of 300 feet, according to the release.

For the past several weeks, the device has been gathering data on tides, varied currents, wakes and weather conditions near Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach.

"Ghost Swimmer will allow the Navy to have success during more types of missions while keeping divers and Sailors safe," Michael Rufo, director of Boston Engineering's Advanced Systems Group, said in the release.

Ghost Swimmer isn't the only underwater device the Pentagon hopes will mimic sea creatures' movement to gain maximum stealth: the Christian Science Monitor reported in October 2013 that the Navy is experimenting with drones that move like jellyfish and eels among other sea animals.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/local/article/U-S-Navy-has-an-underwater-drone-that-looks-like-5963093.php