It may sound like the plot from a desperate Hollywood reboot - but in reality it's far more chilling. The U.S. Navy has developed a state-of-the-art underwater spying machine designed to look and act like a shark - so that it can carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions undetected. The drone is five feet long, weighs almost 100lbs and can dive as deep as 300ft while gathering data. Scroll down for video . Drone shark: The GhostSwimmer can dive to 300ft while recording data and transmitting it in real time . As well as resembling a shark the device swims like one, flipping its tail back and forth to navigate waters. The Navy calls it the latest in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects to come out of its Silent NEMO experiments for developing unmanned biomimetic vehicles as an underwater fleet, CBS News reports. The word biomimetic refers to human-made devices mimicking biology - in this case the ocean's most feared predator. The autonomous drone is called GhostSwimmer - and the US military hope it will boost the Navy's underwater capability. State-of-the-art: The Navy calls it the latest in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects to come out of its Silent NEMO experiments . Michael Rufo, director of the Advanced Systems Group at Boston Engineering that designed GhostSwimmer, said: 'It swims just like a fish does by oscillating its tail fin back and forth. 'GhostSwimmer will allow the Navy to have success during more types of missions while keeping divers and sailors safe.' When it's not hovering just below the surface of the water, the drone can dive to great depths while gathering data on tides, currents, wakes and weather conditions. The machine is able to operate without being controlled - but can also be connected to a laptop by a 500ft tether and be driven from on board a vessel. By doing this, any data collected can be transmitted in real time. It is believed the technology could also replace the bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions the Navy trains to recover equipment and spot underwater mines. Breakthrough: The US military hope it will allow the Navy to carry out of a range of missions while keeping divers and sailors safe .
State-of-the-art underwater drone has been dubbed the GhostSwimmer .
Five-foot long, 100lb device can dive to 300ft while transmitting data .
Navy drone is latest in series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects .
It was designed by Boston Engineering to help keep sailors out of danger .
It may sound like the plot from a desperate Hollywood reboot - but in reality it's far more chilling. The U.S. Navy has developed a state-of-the-art underwater spying machine designed to look and act like a shark - so that it can carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions undetected. The drone is five feet long, weighs almost 100lbs and can dive as deep as 300ft while gathering data. Scroll down for video . Drone shark: The GhostSwimmer can dive to 300ft while recording data and transmitting it in real time . As well as resembling a shark the device swims like one, flipping its tail back and forth to navigate waters. The Navy calls it the latest in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects to come out of its Silent NEMO experiments for developing unmanned biomimetic vehicles as an underwater fleet, CBS News reports. The word biomimetic refers to human-made devices mimicking biology - in this case the ocean's most feared predator. The autonomous drone is called GhostSwimmer - and the US military hope it will boost the Navy's underwater capability. State-of-the-art: The Navy calls it the latest in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects to come out of its Silent NEMO experiments . Michael Rufo, director of the Advanced Systems Group at Boston Engineering that designed GhostSwimmer, said: 'It swims just like a fish does by oscillating its tail fin back and forth. 'GhostSwimmer will allow the Navy to have success during more types of missions while keeping divers and sailors safe.' When it's not hovering just below the surface of the water, the drone can dive to great depths while gathering data on tides, currents, wakes and weather conditions. The machine is able to operate without being controlled - but can also be connected to a laptop by a 500ft tether and be driven from on board a vessel. By doing this, any data collected can be transmitted in real time. It is believed the technology could also replace the bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions the Navy trains to recover equipment and spot underwater mines. Breakthrough: The US military hope it will allow the Navy to carry out of a range of missions while keeping divers and sailors safe .
. Drone shark: The GhostSwimmer can dive to 300ft while recording data and transmitting it in real in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' drone is called GhostSwimmer - and the US the latest in a series of 'science-fiction-turned-reality' projects to come Boston Engineering that designed GhostSwimmer, the Navy to carry out of a range of missions