CURV-21

For CURV-III, the previous generation of this vehicle, see CURV.
History
United States
NameCURV-21
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Displacement6,400 lb (2,900 kg)
Length8 ft (2.4 m)
Beam5 ft (1.5 m)
Propulsion45 hp (34 kW)
Speed2.5 kn (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph)
Test depth20,000 ft (6,100 m)
NotesLifting capacity: 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)[1]

CURV-21 is a remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) of the United States Navy designed to meet its deep ocean salvage requirements down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) of seawater.[2][3][4][5][6]

It is the latest generation of the Cable-controlled Undersea Recovery Vehicle (CURV) family and was built to serve as a direct replacement for CURV-III[7] while having a smaller overall system footprint.[2][3][4][8]

It can switch at sea between side-scan sonar and ROV operations[2][3] and is equipped with two manipulators[2] in support of its salvage activities.

The ROV also has a modular design and can be customized with mission-specific equipment or special tool kits to form an integrated search and recovery system.[2][3]

The system is self-contained and flyaway transportable for a worldwide response on vessels of opportunity. It can be also deployed on Powhatan-class tugboats of the Military Sealift Command.[2]

  1. ^ Loh, Matthew. "Even if the Titan submersible is found in the deep sea, rescuers would need to somehow haul it back up. And they'd only have one shot to save everyone inside, a naval architect says". Insider. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "CURV 21 - Remotely Operated Vehicle". Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications, US Navy. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  3. ^ a b c d Jing, Qianqian; Luo, Jing; Li, Yunhui (2021), Zallio, Matteo; Raymundo Ibañez, Carlos; Hernandez, Jesus Hechavarria (eds.), "A New Modular Intensive Design Solution for ROVs", Advances in Human Factors in Robots, Unmanned Systems and Cybersecurity, vol. 268, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 69–70, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79997-7_9, ISBN 978-3-030-79996-0, S2CID 237283843, retrieved 2023-06-24
  4. ^ a b Paschoa, Claudio (2014-07-24). "Pioneer Work Class ROVs (CURV-III & 21) – Part 2". Marine Technology News. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  5. ^ Lamothe, Dan (2014-03-26). "Pentagon's Growing Fleet of Underwater Drones Could Find Missing Airline". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  6. ^ Crisp, James; O'Neill, Katie (2023-06-21). "The kit Titanic sub rescuers are pinning their hopes on". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  7. ^ Nick, Logan (20 June 2023). "How remotely operated vehicles might help find the Titan". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  8. ^ "CURV III". U. S. Naval Undersea Museum. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2023-06-24.