But Does It Come In Black?

I'm scooping the Deep Sea News boys on this one! On Wednesday at the California Academy of Sciences, a newly designed, battery-powered submarine was unveiled. Looking more like a plane than a sub, the Deep Flight Super Falcon is only 20 feet long and is built to carry two people to depths of 1,500 feet at a leisurely cruising speed of 7 mph.

Already tested successfully inside San Francisco Bay, the Deep Flight Super Falcon is next slated to explore the kelp forests and other nearshore habitats of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The craft is the brainchild of California-based marine engineer Graham Hawkes. With a price tag of $1.5 million, the craft is designed to "fly" just like a jet plane, with electric motors controlling for roll, pitch and yaw.

John McCosker, the Cal Academy's chair of aquatic biology, said the sub will enable him and his colleagues for the first time to follow along with the travels of "whales and dolphins and even super sharks - maybe even the mysterious giant squid."

Personally, I'm thinking I'd not wanna be in this thing should a curious (or hungry) Architeuthis or Mesonychoteuthis decide to wrap its tentacles around the hull and drag it down a mile or two deep. And just in case a Megalodon is still swimming around, this sub would be a perfect toothpick.