SAAB has received an order for the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sabertooth from PXGEO, a marine geophysical service provider with headquarters in the United Arab Emirates. 

According to SAAB’s announcement, the order value is approximately 54 million euros and deliveries will take place in 2023-2025. Additionally, the order includes more than 20 Sabertooth vehicles, which makes this the largest Sabertooth order to date. 

These will form part of PXGEO’s MantaRay solution for offshore seismic data acquisition and will be used for the deployment and recovery of equipment during ocean bottom surveys.

Specifically, Sabertooth is a lightweight inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) platform with the capability to perform operations to depths of up to 3,000 meters.

The Sabertooth platform is available in both single and double-hull versions, thus its respective technical characteristics are:

• Dimensions: 3.6 x 0.66 x 0.45 m / 4 x 1.35 x 0.67 m
• Maximum Launch Weight: 800 kg / 2000 kg
• Maximum speed: 5 kts / 4 kts
• Battery capacity: 12 kWh / 30 kWh

Its small size, tether-free operation, and maneuverability ensure easy and safe access inside and around complex structures and are ideal for offshore survey work and autonomous IMR of subsea installations and tunnels.

The platform may operate autonomously supported by an inertial navigation system and featuring a mission-planning software from the customer. Also, it can be manually assisted, as it is given step-by-step instructions from an operator over an optical through-water or acoustic communication link. 

Each step is then verified by video or sonar data and sent back via the communication link. If the link is broken, a pre-programmed emergency routine is enabled.

Further, if needed, the platform can be used as a subsea resident system, as the vehicle can be housed at the docking unit, where its batteries can be recharged. This unit allows data to be uploaded to the surface and new instructions to be downloaded. Thus, Sabertooth can navigate autonomously to the docking unit and remain there 24/7 for more than six months without maintenance, eliminating the cost of surface vessels.

As such, with Sabertooth, the user can access installations that cannot be reached with ships due to ice or other weather conditions.

Also read: At the deepest point of the earth with the contribution of a Cypriot company