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).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and the British firm was later purchased by CSR Corporation Limited in April 2015.[9]
| History | |
|---|---|
 PRC | |
| Name | Discovery |
| Ordered | 1 |
| Awarded | 1 |
| Builder | Specialist Machine Development (SMD) Ltd |
| Christened | 2014 |
| Completed | 2014 |
| Acquired | 2014 |
| Commissioned | 2021 |
| Maiden voyage | 2014 |
| In service | 2014 |
| Refit | 2018 |
| Reinstated | 2019 |
| Status | Active |
| Class overview | |
| Operators |  People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Built | 2014 |
| In service | 2014 onward |
| In commission | 2014 onward |
| Planned | 1 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Active | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | ROUV |
| Length | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Height | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Sensors and processing systems | Various |
| Electronic warfare & decoys | None |
| Armament | None |
| Armour | None |
| Aircraft carried | None |
| Aviation facilities | None |
Equipment
editIn 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,[2][6] each is capable of handling objects weighing up to 120 kg,[2] and when used together, objects weighing up to 300 kg can be handled.[6] 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.[7]
Specification
edit- Length: 3 meter
- Width: 1.7 meter
- Height: 2 meter
- Payload: 300 kg[2]
- Maximum operating depth: 6000 meter
Upgrade
editMerely 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.[7] 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.[3][4] The mothership of Discovery ROUV has been Chinese research ship Science (Ke-Xue, 科学)[1][2][3][5][6][7][8] since the ROUV first entered service in 2014.[1][2][3][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". news.sciencenet.cn (in Simplified Chinese). January 18, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Discovery ROUV". epaper.qdcaijing.com (in Simplified Chinese). April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". zhakao.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved March 31, 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Discovery ROV". 163.com (in Simplified Chinese). September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Discovery unmanned underwater vehicle". qdhys.ijournal.cn (in Simplified Chinese). 15 January 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Discovery UUV". ibook.antpedia.com (in Simplified Chinese). February 25, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Discovery uncrewed underwater vehicle". gov.cn (in Simplified Chinese). June 6, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Discovery underwater vehicle". xinhuanet.com (in Simplified Chinese). July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "CSR completes SMD acquisition". oedigital.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2022.