Sometimes, secrets of the US military are revealed by… Google Maps. Unless this is all completely voluntary?
It’s called the “Manta Ray”, after the animal its shape is inspired by, but it was supposed to remain top secret. However, this underwater drone was revealed by accident on Google Maps, where it can be observed in the port of the Hueneme naval base, California.
Capable of operating without a crew, the Manta Ray is designed for long-duration operations, and is capable of long-range operations, as recently revealed in a press release from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Although it was well known that the model had been in development for three years by the Northrop Grumman conglomerate for the army service, it was not supposed to be observed by the general public (apart from a few selected images). It is therefore surprising that no communication was made by the American army, and that the vehicle, which has not been officially confirmed to be the “Manta Ray” (even if there is little doubt) has not been deleted or blurred on Google Maps.
Because even if certain newspaper articles have reported a removal of it from the photos, a simple little search on Google Maps still allows you to perfectly observe the machine… We also know that the machine would have made the successfully tested during the year.
So is this an accidental leak, or is it on the contrary perfectly controlled and aimed at countries like Russia or China? Nobody knows.
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