Knifefish (robot)

The robot is a derivative of the Bluefin-21, a civilian UUV designed by the Quincy, Massachusetts-based company Bluefin Robotics. In 2014, the Bluefin-21 gained widespread recognition after it was deployed to search the seafloor of the Indian Ocean for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The Knifefish is a torpedo-shaped robot in length and in diameter, with an operational weight of . It uses onboard synthetic aperture sonar to detect floating or buried naval mines, and can identify a wide variety of mines and mine-like objects using an onboard database and analytical computer. ==Development==

By December 2012, the Navy had ordered eight Knifefish units, at a total cost of US$20 million. The Knifefish was scheduled to begin sea trials in 2015, and to enter into active service in 2017, coinciding with the end of the Navy's Marine Mammal Program. On 20 July 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded General Dynamics roughly $13.5 million for ongoing engineering on the Knifefish. General Dynamics Mission Systems opened a new UUV manufacturing facility at its Taunton, Massachusetts, facility in August 2021. The UUV manufacturing and assembly centre of excellence is dedicated to the Knifefish and Bluefin Robotics UUV range. ==References==