Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle - Military ROV

Military ROV

In October 2008 the U.S. Navy began to replace its manned rescue systems, based on the Mystic DSRV and support craft, with a modular system, the SRDRS based on a tethered, unmanned ROV called a pressurized rescue module (PRM). This followed years of tests and exercises with submarines from the fleets of several nations.

The US Navy also uses an ROV called AN/SLQ-48 Mine Neutralisation Vehicle (MNV) for mine warfare. It can go 1000 yards away from the ship, and can reach 2000 feet deep. The mission packages available for the MNV are known as MP1, MP2, and MP3.

• The MP1 is a cable cutter to surface the moored mine for recovery exploitation or EOD detonation.
• The MP2 is a bomblet of 75 lb PBXN-103 high explosive for neutralising bottom/ground mines.
• The MP3 is a moored mine cable gripper and a float with the MP2 bomblet combination to neutralise moored mines underwater.

The charges are detonated by acoustic signal from the ship.

The AN/BLQ-11 autonomous Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) is designed for covert mine countermeasure capability and can be launched from certain submarines.

The ROVs are only on Avenger class mine countermeasures ships. There are 14 ships, operating mostly off the coast of Japan and California, and there are always four US minesweepers in the Persian Gulf: USS Ardent (MCM-12), USS Dextrous (MCM-13), USS Scout (MCM-8) and USS Gladiator (MCM-11).

During August 19, 2011, a Boeing-made robotic submarine dubbed Echo Ranger was being tested for possible use by the U.S. military to stalk enemy waters, patrol local harbors for national security threats and scour ocean floors to detect environmental hazards.