The "Rubin" Central Design Bureau has announced a new domestic development – the "Argus" marine drone. This is a rather interesting underwater vehicle created for the inspection and protection of Russian underwater pipelines.
"Argus" protects underwater infrastructure: it will find a foreign object near the pipeline, recognize the source of danger in it, and transmit information about it to the support vessel.
In fact, the capabilities of "Argus" are wider: the drone can conduct underwater exploration of minerals, collect information about the structure of the seabed and the state of the aquatic environment. The device can also be used for rescue operations.
The AUV [Autonomous Unmanned Underwater Vehicle] is capable of operating as part of a group of similar vehicles coordinating their actions. The group can include up to five vehicles, which can significantly reduce the duration and cost of a mission, such as a search operation or mapping a large area of the seabed.
The mass of "Argus" is 3.2 tons, the body length is 5.6 m, the diameter is 1 m. The drone is powered by a traction battery. In the underwater position, "Argus" supports coded communication with a surface vessel, other underwater drones, and bottom communication nodes. In the surface position, VHF radio communication, satellite communication, and Wi-Fi equipment can be used to communicate with the drone.
