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China’s new underwater drones resemble what popular fictional character?

Answer: Nemo, from Finding Nemo.

But this “fish” has sonar and a magenometer instead of a lucky fin.

The Qianlong III is an underwater autonomous vehicle designed to conduct deep-sea exploration missions. It will be taking the place of its predecessor, the Qianlong II, in leading China’s deep-sea exploration initiatives.

At 11 feet long and weighing 1.5 tons, the sub is much larger than its on-screen look-alike, and it can also dive much deeper. The Qianlong III can dive as deep as 14,800 feet and remain there for multiple days. What looks like its eyes is actually a forward propeller, and in place of its mouth is a sonar for navigation. The tail has a magenometer for detecting metals, like submarines or other underwater vehicles.

The sub recently covered 100 miles of the South China seafloor in 42 hours. It collected significant amounts of data on natural resources in the area.

Kate is a senior copy editor in Northern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in professional writing from the University of California, Davis.