Any submarine has to come to surface eventually for snorkeling purposes. Beneath the water, a submarine has no natural source of Oxygen for driving its engines and personnel, so the submarine has to store it in liquid state, and eventually the stockpile runs out. This resurfacing can prove costly for the submarine during a war because it is close to impossible to detect a submarine while it is in deep waters. When it comes near the surface, it becomes much more likely that the SONAR will pick it up. Boeing has just finished with this autonomous submarine that is capable of traveling an astonishing 7500 miles underwater or basically the ability to stay hidden for months before having the need of coming up to gather Oxygen.
The Echo Voyager submarine employs a hybrid rechargeable system that allows it to stay longer underwater. The field of autonomous submersibles hasn’t seen that level of sophistication as its aerial counterparts, and this submarine will be a long list of underwater drones that can be used for various purposes. It can collect data, undergo surveillance and send it back in almost a real-time environment setup.
Previous subs had rechargeable batteries that soon ran out of juice after a few hundred miles. This new one uses the conventional method of diesel generators recharging the batteries on the go so that it doesn’t have to come back and recharge every time around. Since there is no crew, the Oxygen requirement is drastically reduced and as a result, the submersible bot can last much longer. Here is the video from Boeing showcasing their work:
They sure seem upbeat about it!