Role & capabilities
- Seabed survey
- Interchangeable sensor modules
- Deep-water data collection
- Primary domain
- Underwater
- System type
- Autonomous underwater vehicle
- Developer / manufacturer
- General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Named configuration; see the evidence and specification notes
- Operators / programme customers
- Not established in the reviewed public sources
Evidence & current status
Public specifications are attributed to the cited sources. Advertised limits are not assumed to occur simultaneously.
Bluefin-21 is a battery-powered autonomous underwater vehicle for seabed survey and other undersea data collection. Its untethered configuration carries navigation, energy and mission equipment onboard, with acoustic communications available underwater and radio or satellite connections at the surface. General Dynamics lists side-scan sonar, a sub-bottom profiler and multibeam sonar as a standard survey payload. The modular architecture allows equipment to be exchanged between missions, although that changes the vehicle's performance baseline.
The published 4,500-metre rating describes operating depth, while the stated 25-hour endurance assumes three knots and the specified standard payload. Those are different measurements and should not be read as evidence of maximum speed for the full duration. Shipboard handling uses a docking head or A-frame arrangement. This record covers the supplier's Bluefin-21 product configuration. It does not transfer specifications or service status from the related US Navy Knifefish programme, whose mission equipment and qualification require separate documentation.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Untethered modular AUV | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Battery-electric; ducted thruster | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 4.93 m long; 0.53 m diameter | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | 750 kg dry | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | 25 hours at 3 knots with standard payload | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Up to 4.5 knots | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Operating depth | 4,500 m | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Side-scan, sub-bottom and multibeam sonar | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | INS/DVL navigation; acoustic, RF and Iridium links | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Shipboard A-frame or docking-head handling | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
Publication history
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
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Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.