A18-D
Galería
Descripción general
French compact deep-water survey AUV used by the French Navy for seabed operations down to 3,000 m.
A18-D is Exail's deep-water autonomous underwater vehicle, which the company describes as the most compact multi-sensor AUV for long-endurance survey to 3,000 m. About 5.5 m long and around 800 kg, it can be launched from many types of ship using a simple launch and recovery system with no hydraulics. On a single 24-hour mission it can image up to 40 km² of seabed, combining synthetic aperture sonar to detect and identify objects, a multibeam echosounder to map the seafloor's shape, a sub-bottom profiler to see beneath it, and a camera. France's DGA chose the A18-D for its seabed-warfare strategy, leasing it so the Navy could train sailors and work on deep seabed operations.
Roles principales
Notas
Rated to 3,000 m with 24 hours autonomy, up to 6 kn, and up to 40 km² imaged per mission. Third-party sources give about 5.5 m length (4.9 m without the configurable section) and 780-800 kg; Exail's current datasheet was not reachable. Developed by ECA Group, now part of Exail.
