Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
Know What's Below
Our autonomous Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) are designed for a variety of missions — including intelligence gathering, mine-hunting, scientific exploration and ship hull inspection — providing an accurate picture under the surface.
Smarter Underwater Data Collection
We designed our line of small and medium-class UUVs to help extend the Navy's underwater reach while keeping sailors out of harm's way. These autonomous UUVs can be deployed by submarines, surface vessels or two-man teams as part of an interconnected ecosystem of other surface and undersea vessels.
Designing UUVs For The Future Undersea Battlespace
General Dynamics engineers are building smarter UUVs for the naval missions of the future. Some of these advancements include:
- Connecting UUVs with other vessels using command & control systems
- Integrating the latest commercial technology, including sonars
- Leveraging machine learning & AI algorithms
Our Current Programs
General Dynamics has begun production on unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. and Australian Navies. These next-generation UUVs will be deployed on mine-hunting missions all over the world, protecting sailors and their ships.
Knifefish — A U.S. Navy Mine-Hunting UUV
Knifefish is a medium-class mine countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) intended for deployment from U.S. Navy 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. Knifefish is based on the Bluefin-21® UUV.
SEA 1778 — Australian Mine-Hunting UUVs
General Dynamics is delivering Bluefin-9 and Bluefin-12 lightweight UUVs to Thales in support of the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 1778 program. The autonomous UUVs will help search for, classify and identify sea mines, providing a maritime task group with an initial mine counter-measures (MCM) capability.
Our Products
We offer a range of modular, free-flooded Bluefin UUV products designed for military and scientific missions. Many of our models are customizable, and our proven integration track record includes 70 different sensors on more than 100 vehicles.
Bluefin Robotics Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
Our Bluefin Robotics® UUVs are designed for defense, commercial and scientific customers worldwide. These underwater vehicles can dive up to 14,000 feet below the ocean's surface while collecting data from the sea floor.
Watch Our UUV Demos
Our Autonomous Undersea Systems in Action
This simulated demo from the U.S. Navy's ANTX 2019 exercise illustrates how a Bluefin-9 UUV can conduct an intelligence gathering mission in close coordination with a Littoral Combat Ship, a Virginia-class submarine and other unmanned vessels using our command & control system.
Additional Video Demos:
ICEX 2020: Bluefin-21 UUV Navigates Autonomously Under The Arctic Circle
Royal Navy's Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS) Bluefin-9 UUV Demo
ANTX 2018: Theatre-level planning command center & Bluefin-21 Demo
Request More Information
Have a question? Our team has decades of experience in underwater missions and are available to answer technical questions about our UUVs.
General Dynamics Opens New UUV Manufacturing Center of Excellence
Company officials and representatives from the U.S. Navy formally opened the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Manufacturing and Assembly Center of Excellence at our Taunton, MA facility.
The repurposed manufacturing space will provide manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing capabilities for Knifefish and Bluefin Robotics® UUVs.