Director General of JSC CDB MT Rubin (St. Petersburg) Igor Vilnit in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper spoke about the company's latest achievements in the field of underwater robotics.
The most famous brainchild of the design bureau of the Northern capital, he called the autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicle (AUV) "Vityaz-D".
It was the world's first marine unmanned complex that dived to the bottom of the Mariana Trench with a depth of more than 10 thousand meters.
The significant event took place on May 8, 2020.
The Vityaz-D was launched into the water from the Photiy Krylov rescue vessel of the Pacific Fleet.
At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the Russian apparatus carried out mapping, photo and video filming, and also installed a pennant dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
“Our most famous device is the deep-sea Vityaz-D, the world's first unmanned aerial vehicle that explored a part of the Mariana Trench following a given route.
It was created at the initiative and order of the Advanced Research Fund (FPI), ”Vilnit said.
As reported in the materials of "Rubin", the complex "Vityaz-D" is designed to perform survey and search and research tasks "in the bottom layer and on the ground of the World Ocean in the entire range of depths, up to depths of 12 thousand meters."
The length of the AUV is 5.7 m, diameter - 1.3 m, weight - 5.7 tons. The complex includes an apparatus for ultra-deep-sea diving, ship control equipment, and a hydroacoustic bottom station for communication and navigation.
During the implementation of the project, specialists from Rubin and other leading domestic enterprises created new structural materials and implemented technical solutions that ensure the immersion of the Vityaz-D components to the maximum depth and with minimal energy consumption.
The power bases of the AUV are made of titanium alloys, and its outer contours are made of spheroplastic, which compensates for the excess weight of the uninhabited vehicle and gives it a streamlined geometric shape.
The movement of the complex is provided by four cruising power units and ten electric thrusters.
As the founder of the Military Russia portal Dmitry Kornev noted in an interview with RT, on the basis of technologies integrated into Vityaz-D, new robotic complexes (RTK) will be created for ultra-deep diving, both military and civilian.
“Vityaz has tested many technologies that will be used on other underwater drones.
The most important thing, in my opinion, is that our engineers were able to create an extremely durable case that can withstand enormous pressure, but the apparatus turned out to be not too heavy, ”explained Kornev.
Diving of the AUV "Vityaz-D" from the tug "Fotiy Krylov"
© Advanced Research Foundation
According to the general director of Rubin, the further development of submarine RTKs will be associated with an increase in the duration of missions, cruising range, expansion of the volume and variety of information collected.
To this end, according to Vilnit, the characteristics of power plants will be improved, navigation systems, communications and artificial intelligence technologies will be improved.
Vilnit also predicts the emergence of so-called "resident" robots.
These AUVs for a long time will be able to work in a certain area together with bottom stations, which will provide their charging, transfer of scenarios of the next missions and download the collected data from the vehicles.
Deep and shallow
Rubin is considered the largest diversified marine engineering bureau in Russia.
According to Vilnit, today the company is working on a number of new projects of autonomous underwater vehicles for various purposes.
“The Harpsichord-type apparatus has been designed and built, the Surrogate target robot has been designed, the Juno light-class apparatus, the Amulet family of small robots, the Talisman remotely controlled unmanned underwater vehicle, as well as a number of other vehicles have been created, including among the heavy class ", - said the general director of" Rubin ".
"Harpsichord" is a type of AUV designed for surveying and mapping the seabed and sounding the ground.
Outwardly similar to a torpedo, the apparatus can be placed on almost any ship of the Russian Navy.
Thus, the "Harpsichord-1R" complex is already in operation as part of the Pacific Fleet.
The weight of this drone reaches 2.5 tons, the cruising range is up to 300 km, the autonomy of operation is 120 hours, and the working depth of immersion is up to 6 thousand meters.
A further development of this AUV is the "Harpsichord-2R-PM" complex (sometimes the name "Harpsichord-2R" is found in the media).
It is assumed that it will be carried by the oceanographic ships of the Navy and special nuclear submarines of project 09852 BS-139 "Belgorod" and project 09787 BS-64 "Podmoskovye".
The next drone in the Rubin range is a 17-meter modular AUV with a Surrogate lithium-ion battery.
The device is capable of imitating the actions of enemy submarines, mapping the area and reconnaissance.
According to Rubin's specialists, this RTK will be able to carry out missions for 15-16 hours and will replace real submarines in naval exercises, which will reduce the cost of maneuvers and reduce risks for crews.
Another novelty of the St. Petersburg design bureau is the compact device of the light class "Juno".
Due to its weight and size characteristics, it can be used from any floating craft, from a pier or an unequipped shore.
The maximum immersion depth of "Juno" is 1 thousand m, length - 2.9 m, diameter - 0.2 m, weight - 87 kg, autonomy - up to 6 hours, cruising range at route speed - up to 30 km, route speed - 1-1.5 m / s (1.8-5.4 km / h).
The class of small underwater RTKs in the Rubin line is represented by the Amulet vehicles.
They are designed for inspection, prospecting and research work in shallow water.
Small-sized AUV "Amulet"
© JSC "CDB MT" Rubin "
The mass of the basic version of the "Amulet" is 17.5 kg, length - 1.3 m, diameter - 0.16 m, autonomy - 4 hours, maximum cruising range - up to 10 km, working immersion depth - up to 50 m.
An improved version of this AUV ("Amulet-2") can be equipped with various modules and has a slightly greater mass (19.2-22.5 kg), length (1.4-1.65 m), maximum cruising range (up to 15 km ), autonomy (6 hours) and working depth of immersion (up to 70 m).
The most compact autonomous complex created by Rubin is Talisman, which can be operated without the use of special crane equipment and is highly maneuverable.
Along with the drones listed by Vilnit, the domestic industry is creating several other AUVs.
One of them is the Sarma underwater drone.
It is being developed by the Lazurit Central Design Bureau (Nizhny Novgorod) and the Almaz-Antey concern with the support of the FPI.
The drone is designed to ensure the safety of the passage of ships along the Northern Sea Route.
The peculiarity of the device is that it can operate without surfacing and communicating with satellites, focusing on the data of its own navigation system.
Experts call the Poseidon nuclear drone the pinnacle of development of autonomous underwater complexes, which caused great concern in the United States.
For the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the capabilities of this apparatus in March 2018 in a message to the Federal Assembly.
According to the head of state, this AUV is capable of effectively destroying infrastructure facilities, ship groupings and other large targets of the enemy.
Cheaper and more practical
According to Dmitry Kornev's forecast, in the medium term, Russia will acquire a wide range of AUVs of various classes for military and civilian needs.
Underwater drones will greatly simplify and reduce the cost of work related to exploration, exploration of the seabed and currents, search for dangerous sunken objects, including mines and disposal of toxic substances.
“Nowadays, a marine underwater drone is much cheaper and more practical than a submarine or a bathyscaphe for solving many problems.
AUV, depending on its characteristics, can be sent to almost any required depth and range, without risking the lives of people.
These developments are needed by the Navy, scientists and mining corporations, ”the expert explained.
In a commentary on RT, Dmitry Litovkin, editor of the Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozreniye newspaper, expressed the opinion that Moscow's strategic goal in the development of submarine RTKs is a kind of "colonization" of the seabed and space.
The implementation of this task will have a positive effect on the defense, scientific and economic potential of the Russian Federation, the analyst is sure.
Project image of the Sarma underwater drone for the Northern Sea Route
© Advanced Research Foundation
“For obvious reasons, we do not know the real technical capabilities of modern and promising Russian AUVs.
But, following from what Vilnit says and is demonstrated at exhibitions, we can conclude that Russia is laying the foundation for creating an infrastructure when robots will receive power from seabed stations and autonomously perform tasks set by humans, ”summed up Dmitry Litovkin.