An artist’s rendering of an Orca XLUUV drone. The Navy has ordered at least five of the drones, and recently operated one during the RIMPAC naval exercises near Hawaii. (Courtesy of Boeing)

The US Navy’s Orca Drone Traveled 1,000 Miles Last Month

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The Orca’s stellar performance at the recent RIMPAC exercises highlighted the drone’s autonomous capabilities, with implications for its future use in the Indo-Pacific.

Following the conclusion of last month’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international naval exercises, US Navy Rear Admiral Chris Cavanaugh, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force, discussed the role of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) with carrier strike groups with his counterpart, Rear Admiral Marcos Jasso, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG-9).

“The operational environment in the Pacific continues to evolve with the rapid development of technological advancements in the undersea domain,” Cavanaugh said during his meeting with Jasso on CSG-9’s flagship, the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). “The Pacific Submarine Force is heavily........

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