Engineering:Qilin UUV
| History | |
|---|---|
 PRC
| |
| Name: | Qilin |
| Namesake: | Qilin |
| Ordered: | 1 |
| Awarded: | 1 |
| Builder: | CSSC |
| Christened: | 2021 |
| Completed: | 2021 |
| Acquired: | 2021 |
| Commissioned: | 2021 |
| Maiden voyage: | 2021 |
| In service: | 2021 |
| Status: | Active |
| Class overview | |
| Operators: |
 People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Built: | 2016-2021 |
| In service: | 2021 onward |
| In commission: | 2021 onward |
| Planned: | 1 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Active: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Bottom crawler |
| Propulsion: | Electrical (battery) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Various |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: | None |
| Armament: | None |
| Armour: | None |
| Aircraft carried: | None |
| Aviation facilities: | None |
Qilin ARV (Qi-Lin or 麒麟 in Chinese) is a type of very little known unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) built in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the 719th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).[1][2][3][4][5][6] ARV stands for Autonomous Remotely-controlled Vehicle, meaning the UUV is capable of operating both as Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or a Remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV), an idea pioneered by American Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which built Nereus hybrid unmanned underwater vehicle, the first of its kind entering production.
The idea of having an hybrid UUV that can both operate in fully autonomous and in remotely controlled modes is due to the inherit shortcomings of both: When the UUV operates in greater depth, the tether cable would becoming heavy and limits the mobility of the UUV, so fully autonomous mode is preferred in such operations. However, when the UUV needs to operate inside a wreckage or other complex structure, and need make adjustment in real time, the cost would have become prohibitive because mission planning software must include all possible scenarios, which may not cover everything, so when there are plenty opportunities of unexpected would happen, it would be far more cost effective to deploy a ROUV so human operators can adjust accordingly to the situation arose. Designing an UUV that can be both would be far more cost effective than having separate AUVs and ROUVs because one UUV can do the job for both. After the successful fielding of 7B8, Arctic series, Hadal and Hadal 1 ARVs, China has also developed and fielded Qilin UUV.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Development of Qinlin ARV formally begun in 2016, and after approximately half a decade later, was completed in late 2021. In comparison to earlier Chinese ARVs, the electrically powered Qilin is unique in that not only it can operate as AUV and ROUV, it is also a bottom crawler, thus combines the advantage of AUV and ROUV with bottom crawler thanks to its four legs that enable it to travel on seabed when needed. The mechanical legs of Qilin are designed by Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and the finally assembly was at Sea King Electrical Co. (Hai-Wang Dian-Ji Gong-Si, 海王机电公司).<ref name=ql2>Qilin is designed to operating at a depth of a thousand meters.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Specification:[1][2][3][4][5][6]
- Propulsion: electrically powered
- Operating depth: 1000 meter
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Qilin autonomous remotely controlled vehicle" (in Zh-hans). August 31, 2021. http://gfplatform.cnsa.gov.cn/n147/n252055/c6812441/content.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Qilin ARV" (in Zh-hans). September 9, 2021. https://xinxe.com/tj/2288694.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Qilin unmanned underwater vehicle" (in Zh-hans). August 30, 2021. http://www.hbjmrh.gov.cn/2019/yw/rgyw/24096.htm.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Qilin UUV" (in Zh-hans). August 14, 2021. http://www.hubei.gov.cn/hbfb/rdgz/202108/t20210814_3702635.shtml.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Qilin hybrid unmanned underwaer vehicle" (in Zh-hans). August 25, 2021. http://www.fcgs.gov.cn/hyj/dtxx/202108/t20210825_215449.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Qilin hybrid UUV" (in Zh-hans). August 14, 2021. https://www.sohu.com/a/483387256_162758.
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