General Dynamics Mission Systems’ autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Bluefin SandShark is now offered on the company’s website to defense, commercial and scientific market.
The Bluefin SandShark joins the company’s Bluefin Robotics family of autonomous underwater products.
Weighing less than 5 kilograms before adding a mission payload, the ‘micro’ AUV fits in a backpack, can swim up to five knots and dive down to 200 meters.
The tail section of the Bluefin SandShark houses the battery and system electronics and is designed to leave most of the vehicle open for the user to customize with sensors and other mission critical payloads.
“Compared to other small AUVs, the Bluefin SandShark offers customers the most flexibility and diverse mission capabilities at a very affordable cost,” said Carlo Zaffanella , vice president and general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems. “Depending on how it is configured, the Bluefin SandShark AUV can provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information for defense or harbor security missions, dive down to survey submerged structures or become a floating communications network node at sea.”