Discovery ROUV

History
PRC
NameDiscovery
Ordered1
Awarded1
BuilderSpecialist Machine Development (SMD) Ltd
Christened2014
Completed2014
Acquired2014
Commissioned2021
Maiden voyage2014
In service2014
Refit2018
Reinstated2019
StatusActive
Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Built2014
In service2014 onward
In commission2014 onward
Planned1
Completed1
Active1
General characteristics
TypeROUV
Length3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Beam1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Height2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Sensors and
processing systems		Various
Electronic warfare
& decoys		None
ArmamentNone
ArmourNone
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesNone

Discovery (Fa-xian, 发现 in Chinese) remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) is a type of very little known unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) originally built in Great Britain by British firm Specialist Machine Development (SMD) Limited for the People's Republic of China (PRC). and the British firm was later purchased by CSR Corporation Limited in April 2015.

Equipment

In order to complete its assigned missions, Discovery ROUV is equipped with seven underwater cameras, two high definition cameras, underwater positioning system, one Titan 4 and one Atlas manipulators, each is capable of handling objects weighing up to 120 kg, and when used together, objects weighing up to 300 kg can be handled. In addition, there are more than thirty different kinds of scientific instruments and equipment indigenously developed in China for the ROUV after it entered service.

Specification

  • Length: 3 meter
  • Width: 1.7 meter
  • Height: 2 meter
  • Payload: 300 kg
  • Maximum operating depth: 6000 meter

Upgrade

Merely less than half a decade after entering service, Discovery ROV went through an upgrade that lasted more than half a year in China, from end of October 2018 thru April 2019. It's reported that during this maintenance/upgrade, by incorporating more advanced technologies, the maximum operating depth is increased by a third, to the original 4,500 meters to 6,000 meter after Discovery ROV returned to service. The mothership of Discovery ROUV has been Chinese research ship Science (Ke-Xue, 科学) since the ROUV first entered service in 2014.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". news.sciencenet.cn (in Simplified Chinese). January 18, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Discovery ROUV". epaper.qdcaijing.com (in Simplified Chinese). April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b c d "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". zhakao.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved March 31, 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b "Discovery ROV". 163.com (in Simplified Chinese). September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Discovery unmanned underwater vehicle". qdhys.ijournal.cn (in Simplified Chinese). 15 January 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Discovery UUV". ibook.antpedia.com (in Simplified Chinese). February 25, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Discovery uncrewed underwater vehicle". gov.cn (in Simplified Chinese). June 6, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Discovery underwater vehicle". xinhuanet.com (in Simplified Chinese). July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "CSR completes SMD acquisition". oedigital.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2022.