Qianlong III
Gallery
Overview
Chinese 4,500 m 'clownfish' AUV used to explore seabed mineral resources.
Qianlong III is a deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle built by the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, nicknamed for its orange clownfish-like shape. The 3.5 m, 1.5-tonne vehicle is rated to 4,500 m and carries sonars, a magnetometer, cameras, and chemical sensors to map the seafloor and look for polymetallic sulphides and other mineral deposits. In 2018 trials in the South China Sea it stayed submerged for 43 hours and covered nearly 157 km, a Chinese AUV record at the time. It is part of the Qianlong series that supports China's deep-sea resource exploration.
Primary Roles
Notes
About 3.5 m long, 1.5 m high, 1.5 t, rated to 4,500 m. In 2018 trials in the South China Sea it dived to 3,850 m and stayed submerged for 43 hours, covering 156.8 km, a Chinese record at the time. Successor to Qianlong II, with better endurance and lower noise.
