Bluefin-21 unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to be heart Littoral Combat Ship's mine-warfare system

QUINCY, Mass., 23 Nov. 2011. Mine warfare experts at the General Dynamics Corp. Advanced Information Systems segment in Fairfax, Va., needed unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship mine warfare mission package. They found their solution from Bluefin Robotics Corp. in Quincy, Mass.Bluefin won a contract from General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems to design and build the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV) to provide mine-hunting capability -- particularly to detect and identify buried mines in high-clutter environments, Bluefin officials say. The amount of the contract was not disclosed.

The contract has an option for Bluefin to build as many as five low-rate-initial-production systems, which includes 10 UUVs. Bluefin will do the work in Quincy, Mass.

The SMCM UUV system will consist of two Bluefin-21 UUVs, launch and recovery equipment, a support container, spare parts, and support equipment. The Bluefin-21 UUV has pressure-tolerant field-swappable subsea batteries, quiet propulsion, and an advanced sonar payload developed by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.

The General Dynamics prime contract for the Littoral Combat Ship's mine mission package comes from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division in Panama City Beach, Fla.

For more information contact Bluefin Robotics online at www.bluefinrobotics.com, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems at www.gd-ais.com, or the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division at www.navsea.navy.mil/nswc/panamacity.