Non-Subscriber Extract
Strong-armed robot pioneers UUV recovery
By Tim Fish
30 November 2007
An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) has been recovered by an underway Los Angeles-class submarine using the AN/BLQ-11 mine reconnaissance system.
During tests on the AUTEC range in the Bahamas, USS Hartford launched an AN/BLQ-11 UUV from a starboard torpedo tube and recovered the vehicle via the system's 60 ft (18.3 m) robotic arm.
"AN/BLQ-11 is the first autonomous undersea vehicle to be successfully torpedo tube-launched and recovered by a submerged, underway submarine," a Boeing spokesman told Jane's on 28 November.
The deployment and retrieval of the UUV was completed on its first attempt and again in a second attempt two days later.
Designed for use in the US Navy's Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class attack boats, the system comprises two UUVs, the telescopic recovery arm, battery packs and other shipboard support equipment.
Image: The AN/BLQ-11 UUV is loaded in USS Hartford on the AUTEC range in the Bahamas (Boeing)