Role & capabilities
- Mine detection and classification
- Seabed assessment
- Primary domain
- Underwater
- System type
- Autonomous underwater vehicle
- Developer / manufacturer
- General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- Knifefish SMCM UUV
- Variants / configurations
- Not distinguished in reviewed sources
- Operators / programme customers
- United States Navy
Evidence & current status
Published product data does not establish acceptance of every offered configuration.
Knifefish is a specialised autonomous underwater system for the US Navy's surface mine-countermeasure programme. General Dynamics describes it as a medium-class vehicle that gathers information about the seabed and water column using a minehunting sonar. It is part of a wider mission package, with shore or shipboard support equipment and analysis functions; a vehicle count and a complete system count are consequently different measures.
Although Knifefish draws on Bluefin technology, its role, payload and qualification history deserve a separate record from the general-purpose Bluefin-21. Generic Bluefin endurance or depth figures have not been copied into this profile. Likewise, records set by research derivatives are not evidence of Knifefish's delivered performance.
The Navy documented ship integration testing in January 2019. General Dynamics subsequently reported delivery of the first low-rate-production system in March 2021, following acceptance testing. That is stronger evidence than an exhibition announcement, while remaining distinct from a claim that every contracted system has been delivered or that all mission-package components have achieved the same readiness milestone. Public technical details remain limited for the customer configuration.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Medium-class autonomous mine-countermeasure vehicle and support system | Published model baseline; payload, battery and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Operating depth | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Specialised minehunting sonar | Published model baseline; payload, battery and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Integrated for Littoral Combat Ships and vessels of opportunity | Published model baseline; payload, battery and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
First production-system delivery announced
General Dynamics reported delivery of the first low-rate-production Knifefish system.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.