--- description: The 5-foot robot swims like a blue fin tuna title: Navy Unveils Spy Fish Drone image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c887f62e49d2a5d/69876e7906f2c1dd31332d3e/project-finding-nemo-navy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Navy Unveils Spy Fish Drone  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2014 5:52 PM CUT   by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2014 5:52 PM CUT The U.S. Navy [has](http://hamptonroads.com/2014/12/navy-spy-fish-could-be-operational-next-year "undefined") developed an unmanned underwater robot that looks and moves like a blue fin tuna. The robot is a result of Project Silent Nemo, which tested the prototype at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia on Thursday. The fish can be controlled with a joystick or be programmed to swim on its own. Project engineers tell the _Virginian-Pilot_ newspaper that the model is attractive because, by mimicking the evolved motions of a real fish rather than propelling itself through the water with a propeller like most submersibles, Nemo moves extremely quietly. The hope is Nemo will be able to sneak into enemy waters more effectively and patrol undetected in American waters. “This is an attempt to take thousands of years of evolution—what has been perfected since the dawn of time—and try to incorporate that into a mechanical device,” said project lead Jerry Lademan. \[[_The Virginian-Pilot_](http://hamptonroads.com/2014/12/navy-spy-fish-could-be-operational-next-year "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3631988/navy-unveils-spy-fish-drone/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3631988/navy-unveils-spy-fish-drone/"},"headline":"Navy Unveils Spy Fish Drone","datePublished":"2014-12-12T17:52:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:49:25.780Z","description":"The 5-foot robot swims like a blue fin tuna","url":"https://time.com/3631988/navy-unveils-spy-fish-drone/","keywords":["Military","Navy","Drone","spy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c887f62e49d2a5d/69876e7906f2c1dd31332d3e/project-finding-nemo-navy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c887f62e49d2a5d/69876e7906f2c1dd31332d3e/project-finding-nemo-navy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"project-finding-nemo-navy","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3631988/navy-unveils-spy-fish-drone/","name":"Navy Unveils Spy Fish Drone"}}]}] ```