Autonomous Bluefin SandShark now available for defense, commercial use

General Dynamics has announced its Bluefin SandShark autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) can now be purchased by defense, commercial and scientific customers over the company's website.

The Bluefin SandShark, which has a base weight of 11 pounds without a payload and can fit in a backpack, has a speed of up to 5 knots and a submersible depth of 656 feet.

"Compared to other small AUVs, the Bluefin SandShark offers customers the most flexibility and diverse mission capabilities at a very affordable cost," Carlo Zaffanella, vice president of maritime and strategic systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems, said in a company news release. "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."

A pre-configured side-scan sonar payload will be available for the Bluefin SandShark in June. 

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