SEATTLE - If you look out at Puget Sound from Seattle to Everett, you may get a peek at it -- a strange looking boat with camouflage paint.
It is intended to carry out its missions unmanned.
It's called the Piranha, a boat developed with private funds trying to get the attention of U.S and Allied navies as well as the Department of Homeland Security.
Zyvex Technologies of Columbus, Ohio developed the Piranha and had it built in Seattle. It's made from lightweight composite plastic, similar to what Boeing is using to build its new 787 Dreamliner. Zyvex says it's so light, several of the 54-foot vessels could be launched out the back of a flying C-17 cargo jet with parachutes and land in the water to begin its mission.
Like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), those robotic airplanes flown by government agencies including the Air Force and the CIA, Zyvex's website shows a variety of applications the Piranha could carry out.
It could be used as a weapons platform armed with missiles or torpedoes. It could go on surveillance missions and be able to stay at sea for extended periods of time, even launching small UAVs from its rear deck.
For the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard it could be deployed to search out bad guys on the water and even carry out search and rescue missions.
