Large Scale Vehicle - LSV 2 |
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Description
The world's largest unmanned autonomous submarine. |
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Features
LSV 2 Cutthroat offers a cost effective and scaleable platform enabling the capability for advanced research and development in the areas of submarine hydroacoustics, hydrodynamics, and radiated noise reduction. The LSV 2 offers the capability of dramatically improving the performance, while significantly reducing the risk, of future submarine technologies. |
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Background
LSV 2 Cutthroat provides submarine design engineers a readily available submarine platform to install and test advanced submarine technologies.
Cutthroat, a 205-ton, large-scale submarine test vehicle, is used to affordably explore and test emerging technologies while conducting physics-based experiments. At approximately 1/3 scale, Cutthroat is geometrically similar to USS Virginia. Cutthroat was designed with specific emphasis towards supporting submarine stealth, hydrodynamics, hydroacoustics and submarine propulsion designs to permit technology insertion into current and future U.S. Navy submarines.
The LSV 2 provides the capability to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of new technologies that have resulted in major improvements in performance for the U.S. Navy's new attack submarine, USS Virginia (SSN 774), and will support the evaluation of technologies incorporated into all subsequent submarine classes. The LSV 2 was designed and built by an industry team from Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics/Electric Boat Company under contract from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Cutthroat is a fully autonomous, battery powered model providing a wide variety of operational capabilities.
After delivery in 2001, and final assembly on-site, LSV 2 has operated on Lake Pend Oreille at the Acoustic Research Detachment in Bayview, Idaho, the Navy's laboratory for demonstrating submarine stealth technology. The facility is operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division.
Cutthroat, named after a native Idaho trout, was named in 1997 after a selection process by nearby Athol Elementary School. The Navy asked the school to decide on a name from a list of indigenous Idaho fish. Many of these students attended the keel-laying in October 1997 and signed their names on the hull during the November 2000 ceremony. |
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Point Of Contact
Naval Sea System Command
Naval Surface Warfare Center
Carderock Division
9500 MacArthur Boulevard
West Bethesda, MD. 20817-5700
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General Characteristics
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| Primary Function: Submarine test vehicle. |
| Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat. |
| Propulsion: Electric drive; 3,000 shaft horsepower (shp) plant coupled with electric motor controller, expandable to 6,000 shp with additional motor controlled modules. |
| Length: 111 feet (33.83 meters). |
| Beam: 10 feet (3.05 meters). |
| Displacement: 205 tons (205,000 metric tons). |
| Armament: None. |
| Ships: |
Cutthroat (LSV 2), No homeport - Christened on November 15, 2000
Launched on July 23, 2002 |
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| Last Update: 10 October 2012 |
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