Niobium forms an ultra-thin passive film when it contacts water that prevents current from leaking into the water; when the connector's two halves are mated, this insulating film is scraped off to allow current to flow, and when current stops flowing, the film reforms upon water contact.

The Manta Ray can stay out at sea almost indefinitely, constantly delivering mission data without needing to return to port, instead traveling to various electricity storage locations to recharge.

Kelley Ruehl, a mechanical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and advisor to the Manta Ray project, states that ocean resources are 'persistent'—meaning waters never run out and waves never stop, making the ocean an unlimited energy resource for the Manta Ray.

Countries like the U.S., Russia, and China have designed submarines capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) carrying nuclear warheads.

VLF antenna installations are vulnerable military targets; if the U.S. found itself at war with a country capable of firing missiles (such as China), it could quickly lose the ability to communicate with its submarines.

The U.S. has approximately 750 military bases spread across 80 countries, which provides a multitude of deployment options for Manta Rays that could theoretically allow the U.S. to send dozens, if not hundreds, of them into the world's oceans.

If war breaks out, the fact that Manta Rays can be equipped with a payload means the U.S. could use them as kamikaze weapons to take out China's submarines, and the UUVs are unmanned and easy to manufacture and assemble.

In May 2024, DARPA announced that a Manta Ray prototype completed full-scale in-water tests around the Southern Californian coast between February and March, examining hydrodynamic performance with focus on submerged operations including buoyancy, control, and propellers.

China is building submarines at a rapid pace; satellite imagery shows China is building new diesel-fueled submarines with an existing fleet of 48, of which 21 are Yuan-class submarines that weigh 3,600 tons and can fire missiles at ships.

The U.S. is playing chess while China is stuck playing checkers: while China invests millions into building traditional submarines to expand underwater reach, the U.S. is investing in unmanned and revolutionary new submarines representing the next generation of technological achievement.

China is attempting to control the South China Sea, through which approximately one-third of global shipping passes; China believes it owns almost the entirety of that waterway, a claim disputed by countries including the Philippines and Malaysia.

China's traditional submarines cannot do anything about Manta Rays gathering and transmitting information about them because even if a Jin-class submarine spots a Manta Ray in South China Sea waters, the Manta Ray can descend to depths that the Jin-class cannot reach.

The only things traditional patrol aircraft could possibly scan for are the thermal energy harvesting pods that charging stations release—devices so small they will be almost impossible to spot, and even if spotted, they only locate one charging station among what could be dozens or hundreds.

Magnetic anomaly detectors (MADs) in patrol aircraft scan the Earth's magnetic field to pick up sound-based anomalies revealing submarine presence when combined with sonobuoys, but this detection method will not work against the Manta Ray because the UUV barely generates sound.

The Manta Ray is based in Naval Base Ventura County, a Californian base that focuses primarily on the research, development, and testing of new weaponry, with estimated wingspan of 45 feet and overall length of 33 feet.

Neither DARPA nor Northrop Grumman have released official figures for the Manta Ray's size, suggesting development is ongoing and the estimates may change once the submarine enters active service.

Most above-surface military platforms (ships, planes, vehicles) communicate via radio, but submarines cannot use radio because radio waves get lost in conductive saltwater; American submarines currently use Very Low Frequency (VLF) transmissions that rely on enormous antenna complexes built in five places around the globe.

The Manta Ray's data bubbles solve communication vulnerabilities by making the UUV independent of VLF infrastructure; even if an enemy destroys all VLF antenna stations, the Manta Ray can still transmit information to U.S. command posts via data bubbles.

Jim Windgassen and Harvey Hack, both Northrup Grumman employees, invented NiobiCon, a self-insulating electrical connector technology that can be mated and de-mated even when exposed to water, eliminating the need for oils and rubber seals.

The Manta Ray faces several remaining challenges before deployment: much charging station technology is still theoretical and may take months or years to be reliably deployed, undersea corrosion from saltwater exposure could force early returns to base for repairs, and pathfinding requires artificial intelligence and sensor arrays to avoid crashing.