Military weapons developers announced last week that the Manta Ray, a new uncrewed underwater vehicle built by Northrop Grumman, has successfully completed testing.

Officials with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA, said in a press release that a prototype for the Manta Ray was tested off the coast of southern California earlier this year for buoyancy, propellers, and control surfaces. They noted the vehicle was easily shipped and assembled, meaning that the undersea drone could see “rapid deployment throughout the world without crowding valuable pier space at naval facilities.”

“Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections,” DARPA program manager Kyle Woerner said in a statement. “The combination of cross-country modular transportation, in-field assembly, and subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV.”

Images of the Manta Ray released by DARPA show a small boat towing the vehicle ahead of testing. The vehicle appears to be several times larger than the boat.

The Manta Ray program aims to produce new options for undersea drones capable of carrying weapons while employing “undersea energy harvesting techniques at operationally relevant depths.” Reduced need for maintenance and refueling would reduce pressure on naval facilities.

“Shipping the vehicle directly to its intended area of operation conserves energy that the vehicle would otherwise expend during transit,” Woerner added. “Once deployed, the vehicle uses efficient, buoyancy-driven gliding to move through the water. The craft is designed with several payload bays of multiple sizes and types to enable a wide variety of naval mission sets.”

Defense officials have increasingly prioritized developing drones in recent years, as well as weapons systems capable of guarding expensive assets from drone attacks.