AUV "Vityaz-D" has been upgraded and is ready for operation

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AUV "Vityaz-D" has been upgraded and is ready for operation


Russian shipbuilders continue to work on a promising robotic complex for ultra-deep diving with an autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicle Vityaz-D. It is reported that the complex has recently undergone modernization, as a result of which it received new opportunities. In the updated form, the complex passed the next tests and confirmed the design characteristics.



During the test


The Vityaz-D ultra-deep diving complex was developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau of Transportation (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) in cooperation with the Advanced Research Foundation. By the end of the last decade, an experimental complex based on the new AUV was put to the test. Gradually, the complexity of the tasks performed grew. So, on May 8-9, 2020, the Vityaz-D AUV sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Later, representatives of the development organizations repeatedly talked about the possibility of further development of Vityaz-D with an increase in the main characteristics and obtaining new opportunities of various kinds. However, the details of such modernization were not disclosed until recently.

So, in August 2022, the TASS agency published an interview with USC Deputy General Director for Military Shipbuilding Vladimir Korolev. Among the corporation's promising projects, he mentioned the further development of the existing Vityaz-D complex. Its goal is to equip the AUV with new research equipment. More precise information was not provided.


On February 1, 2023, TASS also published an interview with Andrey Grigoriev, CEO of the FPI. One of the topics of conversation was underwater robotics, and the head of the enterprise spoke about some events in the context of the Vityaz-D project. The head of the Fund stated that the AUV has already passed the planned upgrade. The purpose of the work carried out was to expand its functionality.

How exactly the existing AUV was updated and improved is not reported. At the same time, the Director General of the FPI noted that now the complex actually includes two underwater vehicles. Thanks to this, the complex can carry out work continuously - a pair of "Knights" will replace each other.

In 2022, the upgraded complex was tested. The unnamed deep-water regions of the Pacific Ocean became the test site for the updated AUVs. The complex showed and confirmed its capabilities. In addition, he demonstrated his readiness for full operation and use for its intended purpose.

underwater platform


The Vityaz-D ultra-deep diving complex is designed to conduct studies of the bottom and water column in hard-to-reach areas of the World Ocean. The complex includes several main components. First of all, it is an uninhabited underwater vehicle or vehicles. There are also so-called. bottom communication and navigation station, as well as a control point.


All facilities of the complex are placed on the carrier vessel. In this role, different vessels can be used, having space for placing special equipment, a crane for moving AUVs, etc. So, diving into the Mariana Trench was carried out from the board of the tug "Fotiy Krylov" of the Pacific fleet.

The Vityaz-D apparatus is a small-sized submarine of a special design. Product length - 5,7 m with a diameter of 1,3 m. Displacement - 5,65 tons. Power structural elements, including sealed volumes resistant to external pressure, are made of metals, incl. titanium alloys. External contours are formed by plastic elements. The design of the device provides the ability to dive and work in any area of ​​the World Ocean, down to the deepest areas.

The energy of the device is built on the basis of electrical systems. Batteries and other equipment are on board. The movement is provided by four marching electric motors in the stern. There are 10 thrusters for maneuvering.

Instruments and devices for various purposes can be placed on board the AUV. So, a digital photo-video system of ultra-high resolution is installed in the nose. It is planned to install a side-view hydroacoustic station; another hydroacoustic complex is used for navigation and communications. There are devices for collecting water and soil samples. Probably, during the recent modernization, Vityaz-D received some new devices. In general, the set of target equipment may change in accordance with current tasks.


A special control system with artificial intelligence has been developed for the complex. It receives and processes all incoming data and exchanges information with the carrier vessel via a hydroacoustic channel. The system can execute operator commands and work offline. In the latter case, it independently controls the movement and uses the target equipment. It was in autonomous mode that the descent into the Mariana Trench was carried out.

According to the results of modernization


As previously reported, the Vityaz-D complex can perform a wide range of tasks of various kinds. Due to the installation of this or that equipment, the AUV is able to study the seabed, search for various objects, etc. As a result of recent modernization, the purpose of the complex as a whole does not change, but new opportunities and advantages appear.

So, it is reported about the construction of the second device "Vityaz-D". Two such products on one carrier vessel can be used in shifts. This will optimize the work schedule and even ensure the continuity of all activities. In addition, if necessary, it is possible to use both AUVs simultaneously with obtaining known advantages.

As reported, in the course of modernization, the complex of onboard equipment was redesigned. In its original configuration, Vityaz-D is capable of taking photographs and videos, mapping the seabed using a side-scan sonar, collecting samples and recording various environmental parameters. Apparently, when updating the project, all these features were preserved. At the same time, they could replace part of the target equipment with newer analogues, as well as expand the range of compatible devices.


A research complex with such capabilities can be used in various research programs of the navy and scientific organizations. It is possible to work in different areas of the World Ocean - in fact, at any point accessible to the carrier vessel. Thus, the Vityaz-D tests were carried out in the Pacific Ocean, and new missions may take place in other areas.

Probably, in the near future, the Vityaz-D complex and other domestic AUVs will be widely used in the Arctic. The North Seas are of great interest from a scientific, economic and military-political point of view. Their research and development is given due attention, and the emergence of new tools with special capabilities in the form of AUVs will bring obvious benefits. However, plans of this kind have not yet been specified.

In the process of development


Thus, work on the Vityaz-D ultra-deep diving complex did not stop after the record was set and continues successfully. After the first checks, in the recent past, the existing AUV was upgraded and received new features. In addition, the existing underwater complex was supplemented with a second apparatus with similar functions.

As reported, after the modernization of "Vityaz-D" has passed the necessary checks and is ready for full operation and use for its intended purpose. Where and when it is going to be used has not yet been reported. But the known information about the capabilities of the complex, its work in the past and the tasks already completed allow us to make the most optimistic forecasts.
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13 comments
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  1. +7
    7 February 2023 06: 16
    Fix something in memory of the Nord Stream. Or fix it at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico ...
    1. +1
      7 February 2023 09: 10
      Quote: bbss
      Fix something in memory of the Nord Stream. Or fix it at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico ...

      Well, for this you need to have several manipulators to hold an object or for an object and to hold a different tool. And yes, you need to have a tool. The question will begin to rest on the capacity of the batteries to be able to solve a larger range of tasks.
    2. 0
      11 March 2023 15: 16
      it would be enough just not to supply oil and LNG to Japan, the EU, and the USA. And even earlier, after the Maidan, you just had to kick the amers in the ass and lose your Svloreich, and not play demomagic games from the United States. But .... friends .... they couldn’t go for it, because the loot .... the loot ... and some people have elections ...
  2. +3
    7 February 2023 07: 23
    I wonder how autonomous it is for sabotage activities, so that a surface tug-womb does not loom from above?
    1. 0
      23 March 2023 15: 37
      Not how much. The device is autonomous in the sense that it dives autonomously and that's it. Vertical autonomy is the highest, but horizontal autonomy is extremely limited.
      Yes, he can put a conditional bug on the cable. Or a mine on a pipeline. Well, everything in general.
      On the other hand, we also know very well which ships were some time ago over the site of the SP2 explosion. But we can't show anything.
  3. 0
    7 February 2023 11: 24
    And he could quietly and silently cause a gas leak on the Norwegian Sea - Britain line. Or break the fiber in the Atlantic.
  4. 0
    7 February 2023 11: 34
    Can he integrate a bucket from an excavator? ... it will be possible to dig up cables
  5. 0
    7 February 2023 12: 11
    Quote: dfk-80
    fiber optic break in the atlantic

    no ... it's the same as shitting in your own pocket or freezing your neighbor's ears to spite.
  6. 0
    8 February 2023 11: 45
    Interestingly, microspheres for spheroplastics were bought from 3M or domestic ones, otherwise the pressure is more than 120 MPa.
  7. 0
    8 February 2023 20: 21
    It is necessary to make the underwater vehicle 3 times larger. To be like a submarine, of course, small nuclear reactors are needed for this. Then the whole bottom of the ocean is ours.
    1. 0
      9 February 2023 10: 26
      Then the whole bottom of the ocean is ours.
      What can we do at the bottom? I remember the song from the movie "Amphibian Man":
      We would ... all to the bottom.
      There would be... to drink wine
      There under the ocean, are we sober or drunk
      Still not visible
  8. 0
    11 March 2023 08: 07
    AUV "Vityaz-D" has been upgraded and is ready for operation

    Great little thing. I wonder if she has hydraulic shears for cutting, for example, large stones at the bottom!?
  9. 0
    April 20 2023 16: 50
    In Europe, we have many infrastructures at the bottom of the seas. For example, a gas pipe from Norway ... .

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