Small enough to fit in a backpack, Bluefin SandShark dives to 200 meters and multiple vehicles can work in parallel for large area, underwater missions.

PITTSFIELD, Mass., Jan. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Mission Systems today announced its new Bluefin SandShark™ autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) can now be ordered on the company's website by defense, commercial and scientific customers worldwide. Weighing less than 11 pounds before adding a mission payload, the 'micro' AUV fits in a backpack, can swim up to five knots and dive down to 200 meters (656 feet). 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. The Bluefin SandShark joins the company's Bluefin Robotics family of autonomous underwater products.

"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."

The Bluefin SandShark's operating software is compatible with most underwater vehicle autonomy suites, the software languages AUV operators use to talk to the vehicle and program its mission instructions. This operating flexibility makes integration with existing underwater vehicle components and systems faster and more cost-effective.

Changing, adding and reconfiguring the payload section can be performed quickly, without specialized tools. This capability allows Bluefin SandShark customers to efficiently and cost-effectively create and test small, low-power sensors and other capabilities needed for underwater tasks. The Bluefin SandShark payload section can be dry or free-flooded, based on the customer's needs.

In addition to the Bluefin SandShark AUV, the vehicle's starter kit includes:

18-inch, flooded payload section with nose fairing
110 Volt AC shore power-charger
Wireless router
Maintenance and spares kits
Durable, rolling case
A pre-configured side-scan sonar payload will be available in June
The Bluefin SandShark AUV can be ordered on the General Dynamics Mission Systems website here.

General Dynamics Mission Systems is a leading provider of mission critical C4ISR systems across the land, sea, air, space and cyber domains. The company's Bluefin Robotics product business develops, builds and operates a portfolio of AUVs and related technologies for defense, commercial, and scientific customers worldwide. General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). For more information, please visit gdmissionsystems.com and follow us on Twitter @GDMS.