Knifefish (robot)
2012 demonstration model of the Knifefish UUV
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| Manufacturer |
General Dynamics Mission Systems Bluefin Robotics |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Year of creation | 2012 (initial unveiling) |
| Type | Unmanned underwater vehicle |
| Purpose | Minesweeping |
The Knifefish is an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) under development by General Dynamics Mission Systems and Bluefin Robotics for the United States Navy. It is a propeller-driven minesweeping robot designed to replace the Navy's trained dolphins and sea lions after the retirement of the 50-year-old Marine Mammal Program in 2017. The Knifefish was first unveiled at a Navy exposition in April 2012, and is intended to operate in concert with the Navy's littoral combat ships (LCS) as part of a specialised counter-mine system. The Navy plans to begin sea trials of the Knifefish in 2015, and to enter it into active service in 2017.
The robot is a derivative of the Bluefin-21, a civilian UUV designed by the Quincy, Massachusetts-based company Bluefin Robotics. In 2014, the Bluefin-21 gained widespread recognition after it was deployed to search the seafloor of the Indian Ocean for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The Knifefish is a torpedo-shaped robot 19 feet (5.8 m) in length and 21 inches (0.53 m) in diameter, with an operational weight of 1,700 pounds (770 kg). It is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which allows it to operate for up to 16 hours on pre-programmed search missions. It uses onboard synthetic aperture sonar to detect floating or buried naval mines, and can identify a wide variety of mines and mine-like objects using an onboard database and analytical computer. The Knifefish can then mark detected mines and record their locations in its database; the robot later uploads the data to its parent LCS, which destroys the mines. The Knifefish may be modified to transmit its data in real-time, if the Navy considers such a capability necessary after the robot's sea trials. Each LCS will be capable of operating two Knifefish UUVs, which will scan the seabed near the ship and reduce the risk of mine damage to the LCS itself.
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