RIVIERA BEACH, Fla., April 6 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Friday turned over the first production model of the Remote Minehunting Vehicle (RMV) to the U.S. Navy for deployment.
The RMV is earmarked for the destroyer USS Bainbridge and will eventually become a mine-countermeasures fixture aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the Littoral Combat Ship.
The RMV is part of the RMS (Remote Minehunting System) that is designed to detect and dispose of submerged mines laid along the coastal "littoral" waters where the Navy expects to conduct a significant share of its operations in the 21st Century.
"Sailors now have an organic unmanned mine warfare system that will allow them to detect and classify mines from a safe distance," Navy Capt. Joe Spitz said during the small ceremony at Lockheed's Riviera Beach, Florida facility. "RMS allows the Navy to send a remotely operated vehicle into dangerous waters, keeping sailors out of the minefields."
The RMV is basically an unmanned submarine that scours the ocean around its host warship. It is 23-feet long. Its 370-horsepower Cummins diesel engine gives it a top speed of 16 knots. A mast that pokes through the surface of the water provides air for the engine and transmits data back to the ship.
The Bainbridge will carry out an evaluation of the complete RMS in June.
