A robotic submarine has completed its first successful scan of the seabed in the hunt for the missing Malaysian plane, but investigators say tests have ruled out that a nearby oil slick came from the aircraft.
The Bluefin-21’s first two missions were cut short by technical problems and deep water, but the unmanned submarine managed to complete a full 16-hour scan of the seabed far off Australia’s west coast overnight. Data was still being analysed but nothing of note had yet been discovered. The sub has now scanned 90 sq km (35 sq miles) of the Indian Ocean floor.
| Diameter | 21 in (53 cm) |
| Length | 16.2 ft (493 cm) |
| Weight (Dry) | 1,650 lb (750 kg) |
| Buoyancy | ~ 16 lb (7.3 kg) net positive |
| Lift Points | 1 (located mid-vehicle) |
| Depth Rating | 14,763 ft (4,500 m) |
| Endurance | 25 hours @ 3 knots with standard payload |
| Speed | Up to 4.5 knots |
| Energy | 13.5 kWh of total energy Nine 1.5 kWh battery packs Lithium-polymer, pressure-tolerant |
| Propulsion | Gimbaled, ducted thruster for propulsion and control |
| Navigation | Real-time accuracy ≤ 0.1% of D.T. CEP 50 INS, DVL, SVS and GPS USBL tracking with vehicle position updates |
| Antenna | Integrated — GPS, RF, Iridium and strobe |
| Communications | RF, Iridium and acoustic; Ethernet via shore power cable |
| Safety Systems | Fault and leak detection, dropweight, acoustic tracking transponder, strobe, RDF and Iridium (all independently powered) |
| Software | GUI-based Operator Tool Suite |
| Data Management | 4 GB flash drive for vehicle data Plus additional payload storage |
| Standard Payloads (others available) |
EdgeTech 2200-M 120/410 kHz side scan sonar (option: EdgeTech 230/850 kHz dynamically focused) EdgeTech DW-216 sub-bottom profiler Reson 7125 400 kHz multibeam echosounder |
| For information on the BPAUV configuration, please download the Bluefin-21 BPAUV Product Sheet. | |
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