(Photo/CNR)

The US navy is currently testing a new type of unmanned vessel to trail enemy diesel submarines, according to multiple media sources.

According the Daily Mail, the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) project began in 2010, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, announced that they were building a 132-foot autonomous ship to track quiet, diesel-powered submarines. The ACTUV will be able to operate for several months at a time scouring the seas and coastal areas for silent, diesel powered enemy submarines.

In the US vision of a West Pacific “Air-Sea Battle”, massive anti-submarine warfare against China's conventional submarine force is of vital importance to safeguarding its maritime lifeline.