Navy to Auction Off Secret Radar-Evading Ship from the 80s

The U.S. Navy is hoping to find a bidder for the Sea Shadow, a 164-ft ship built to be invisible. The auction, looking to get just the value of the vessel’s scrap metal is set to end on Friday.

The Sea Shadow looks to be from outer space and was secretly built in Redwood City in 1985 by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy at a cost of $190 million. Its conception came near the end of the Cold War at a time when the US was looking to have a naval edge on Russia.

This unique vessel was built to test radar-cloaking technology and naval engineering innovations of the time. Much Research conducted with this vessel resulted in many naval technologies in use today. The Sea Shadow features a Swath Water Plane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) with angled sides that dip below the surface into torpedo shaped hulls – giving it excellent stability in inclement weather. The ship was also inspiration for the high-tech boat used in the 1997 Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies.

The U.S. Navy say’s they’ve spent 6 years trying to preserve the ship at a museum, but found no takers.

The bidding is being done on a military auction site, where the bid has reached $100,420.

Interested? Place your bid here.