Boeing delivers first Orca XLUUV test asset to the Navy in December 2023. (Photo: Boeing)

While the Navy started developing the Boeing [BA] Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) prototype effort in fiscal year 2017 to aid in an “emerging operational need” to lay undersea mines, the effort has seen numerous delays and the service recently shifted to a new program partnering with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Last week, the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) annual assessment of major weapon systems noted the prototype program has experienced about five years worth of delays “due…