See Lockheed’s cutting-edge $50 million stealth ship the US Navy couldn’t find a use for

• The US Navy developed a $50 million stealth surface vessel that was never put into operational use.
• The Sea Shadow’s angular surfaces inspired the design of the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers.
• Its influence also lives on in a new catamaran vessel designed for near-shore operations.

The Cold War was a golden age for stealth technology as the US military heavily invested in advanced systems and capabilities to get the upper hand over the Soviet Union.

Driven by the Soviet Union’s advancements in radar and missile systems, the US military moved beyond just reducing radar visibility to designing fully radar-evading aircraft like Lockheed Martin’s F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth fighter.

But the US Navy sought to get eyes in the water as well, attempting to create the first stealth vessel that was undetectable by radar and sonar. The Navy never found a use for the one-of-a-kind vessel, whose design was ahead of its time and informed the creation of the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers.

Its influence also lives on in a new catamaran vessel designed for near-shore operations.