US-based Bluefin Robotic successfully tested its unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in deepwater conditions, the company announced last month. Bluefin tested the UUV off Massachusetts with the Scarlett Isabella vessel, conducting six days of operational testing including two 4,450m dives totaling 11 hours.
The tests allowed Bluefin to vet new vehicle capabilities such as their modular UUVs, including an extended operational depth rating, an advanced pressure vessel design, a new power system, a newly available high-powered acoustics transducer system, and a transportable docking head launch and recovery system.
Phase III of the Bluefin’s DARPA contract was awarded in March and will fund the full integration of deep sea sonar into the vehicle, as well as fund the production of a second system with sonar to support networked operations.
