QUINCY, Mass., March 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The General
Dynamics Mission Systems Knifefish team successfully completed a
comprehensive evaluation of Knifefish, an autonomous surface mine
countermeasure (SMCM) unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV). In
coordination with the U.S. Navy, the test events took place off the
coast of Boston using submerged
Navy mine test targets. The evaluation represents a significant
milestone in the Knifefish program and demonstrates the UUV's
capability to detect and classify potential mines, at a variety of
depths, each posing a unique threat to naval vessels operating in a
mission area.
"The information and situational awareness Knifefish will
deliver to sailors is a quantum leap in clarity and accuracy over
other mine-hunting systems currently used by the Navy," said
Carlo Zaffanella, vice president and
general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems for General
Dynamics Mission Systems.
Simulating mine-hunting missions, the UUV located and classified
mine test targets submerged at various depths and on the seafloor.
Knifefish is also capable of locating and identifying mines buried
in the seafloor.
"The Navy continues to work with its industry partner, General
Dynamics Mission Systems, to develop, test, and deliver the needed
Knifefish capability to the fleet," Capt. Jon Rucker, Program Manager for the Navy's
Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS406) said. "The system
performed well against a variety of surrogate targets and we are
confident we will refine its performance to support the planned
schedule in 2017."
Knifefish will undergo additional at-sea testing this year to
further refine system performance in advance of formal System
Acceptance Testing with the Navy.
A U.S. Navy program, Knifefish is a heavyweight-class mine
countermeasure UUV intended for deployment from Navy surface
vessels. Knifefish will reduce risk to personnel by operating in
the minefield as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays
outside the minefield boundaries.
General Dynamics Mission Systems is the prime contractor for the
Knifefish program. The company designed the tactical UUV using an
open architecture concept that can be quickly and efficiently
modified to accommodate a wide range of missions that may face
future naval operations. The Knifefish UUV is based on the General
Dynamics Bluefin Robotics Bluefin-21 deep-water AUV.
For more information about General Dynamics Mission Systems, a
business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), please visit
gdmissionsystems.com and follow us on Twitter @GDMS.
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SOURCE General Dynamics Mission Systems