Bluefin
Robotics, a leading provider of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) solutions
for US Navy Programs of Record announced today that the company has
successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review for Knifefish,
the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV).
In November of 2011, Bluefin announced a subcontract from General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS) for the engineering and manufacturing
of Knifefish - a specialized Bluefin-21 UUV. A scale model of the design
was revealed at the Sea-Air-Space conference in Maryland in April 2012.
"We are pleased with Bluefin's ability to produce innovative designs
for Knifefish while successfully meeting cost and schedule targets,"
said Harry Grant, Director of Sensors and Surveillance Business Area
at GDAIS. "Bluefin continues to serve as a key contributor supporting
the GDAIS Team in passing this important program milestone." |
Knifefish
will be a critical part of the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Warfare mission
package and will provide the fleet mine warfare commander and sailors
with enhanced mine-hunting capability by addressing the Navy's need
to reliably detect and identify proud and buried mines in high-clutter
environments.
The SMCM UUV System will include two Knifefish UUVs in addition to launch
and recovery equipment, a support container, spare parts and support
equipment. The UUV will feature Bluefin's field-swappable batteries,
a top-of-the-line integrated navigation system, and low-noise propulsion
technology. Bluefin's intuitive user software interface, the Operator
Tool Suite, will also be provided for mission planning and monitoring.
In addition, the vehicle will carry an advanced sonar payload provided
by the GDAIS Team.
The subcontract includes an option for the production of up to five
low rate initial production systems (ten UUVs) and various other options.
Work will be performed in Quincy, Massachusetts. |
