| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Discovery | 
| Ordered | 1 | 
| Awarded | 1 | 
| Builder | Specialist Machine Development (SMD) Ltd | 
| Christened | 2014 | 
| Completed | 2014 | 
| Acquired | 2014 | 
| Commissioned | 2021 | 
| Maiden voyage | 2014 | 
| In service | 2014 | 
| Refit | 2018 | 
| Reinstated | 2019 | 
| Status | Active | 
| Class overview | |
| Operators | |
| Built | 2014 | 
| In service | 2014 onward | 
| In commission | 2014 onward | 
| Planned | 1 | 
| Completed | 1 | 
| Active | 1 | 
| General characteristics | |
| Type | ROUV | 
| Length | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) | 
| Beam | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) | 
| Height | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) | 
| Sensors and  processing systems  | Various | 
| Electronic warfare  & decoys  | None | 
| Armament | None | 
| Armour | None | 
| Aircraft carried | None | 
| Aviation facilities | None | 
Discovery (Fa-xian, 发现 in Chinese) remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) is a type of very little known unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) originally built in Great Britain by British firm Specialist Machine Development (SMD) Limited for the People's Republic of China (PRC).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and the British firm was later purchased by CSR Corporation Limited in April 2015.[9]
Equipment
In order to complete its assigned missions, Discovery ROUV is equipped with seven underwater cameras, two high definition cameras, underwater positioning system, one Titan 4 and one Atlas manipulators,[2][6] each is capable of handling objects weighing up to 120 kg,[2] and when used together, objects weighing up to 300 kg can be handled.[6] In addition, there are more than thirty different kinds of scientific instruments and equipment indigenously developed in China for the ROUV after it entered service.[7]
Specification
- Length: 3 meter
 - Width: 1.7 meter
 - Height: 2 meter
 - Payload: 300 kg[2]
 - Maximum operating depth: 6000 meter
 
Upgrade
Merely less than half a decade after entering service, Discovery ROV went through an upgrade that lasted more than half a year in China, from end of October 2018 thru April 2019.[7] It's reported that during this maintenance/upgrade, by incorporating more advanced technologies, the maximum operating depth is increased by a third, to the original 4,500 meters to 6,000 meter after Discovery ROV returned to service.[3][4] The mothership of Discovery ROUV has been Chinese research ship Science (Ke-Xue, 科学)[1][2][3][5][6][7][8] since the ROUV first entered service in 2014.[1][2][3][5]
References
- 1 2 3 "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". news.sciencenet.cn (in Simplified Chinese). January 18, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Discovery ROUV". epaper.qdcaijing.com (in Simplified Chinese). April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - 1 2 3 4 "Discovery remotely operated vehicle". zhakao.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved March 31, 2022.
 - 1 2 "Discovery ROV". 163.com (in Simplified Chinese). September 12, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - 1 2 3 "Discovery unmanned underwater vehicle". qdhys.ijournal.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved March 31, 2022.
 - 1 2 3 4 "Discovery UUV". ibook.antpedia.com (in Simplified Chinese). February 25, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - 1 2 3 4 "Discovery uncrewed underwater vehicle". gov.cn (in Simplified Chinese). June 6, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - 1 2 "Discovery underwater vehicle". xinhuanet.com (in Simplified Chinese). July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 - ↑ "CSR completes SMD acquisition". oedigital.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
 
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* = Under construction or procurement, CG= Classified as guided missile cruiser by NATO, FF= Classified as light frigate by PLAN  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||