Phoenix AUV Upgraded to Dive to 4,500 Meters

Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. announced that the company has taken delivery of their Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) after designer and manufacturer Bluefin Robotics completed a depth upgrade from a 1,500-meter to a 4,500-meter capability.

The Phoenix AUV is equipped with field-swappable acoustic and optical payloads. The acoustic payload section can concurrently operate a Reson 7125 multibeam (400kHz), Edgetech 2200-M side scan sonar (120/410 kHz), and Edgetech DW2-16 sub-bottom profiler (2-16 kHz) on 20 hour dives at speeds up to 3.5 knots. The optical payload section can collect high resolution black and white imagery up to 3 frames per second using a Prosilica GE1900 camera system with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. This highly capable and portable deep-water vehicle ships air freight to deploy on vessels of opportunity. The average loadout specifications which include the AUV, mission support equipment, and lithium ion batteries consist of 20 pieces totalling 10,000 lbs. and occupies 1,000 cubic feet.

“We are quite pleased with this upgraded vehicle,” said Phoenix CEO, Mike Kutzleb. “And we’re ready to go to work.”