Role & capabilities
- Deep-ocean research
- Seabed survey
- Extreme-depth technology demonstration
- Primary domain
- Underwater
- System type
- Autonomous underwater vehicle
- Developer / manufacturer
- Rubin Central Design Bureau
- Origin / production countries
- Russia
- Other names
- Vityaz D; Витязь-Д
- Variants / configurations
- Not distinguished in reviewed sources
- Operators / programme customers
- Russian research programme — Rubin
Evidence & current status
Manufacturer research-use evidence. Technical page was available through the search index; direct retrieval was unreliable. No naval fleet acceptance inferred.
Vityaz-D is a deep-ocean research complex developed by Rubin. Its main elements are an autonomous underwater vehicle, a seabed acoustic navigation and communication station, and shipboard control equipment. The manufacturer describes survey and scientific work near the seabed, together with development of technologies for extreme-depth operation.
Rubin's technical page lists side-scan sonar, imaging equipment, environmental measurements and acoustic navigation among the system's equipment. It gives a design depth limit of up to 12,000 metres; that is a supplier rating and should not be confused with the actual depth of an individual dive. A separate 2022 Rubin account describes the programme's completed Mariana Trench work and identifies its research purpose.
This provides a sourced Russian robotics entry without treating a research achievement as evidence of naval combat service. It is also a system-level example: the underwater vehicle does not operate in isolation from its support stations and research vessel. Current production numbers, customer-specific configurations and any military acceptance remain unestablished in the reviewed material. Torpedoes and other underwater weapons are outside this vehicle profile.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 5.7 m long; 1.3 m diameter | Published configuration or reported trial baseline; not a guarantee for all variants. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | 5.7 tonnes | Published configuration or reported trial baseline; not a guarantee for all variants. 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 | Up to 12,000 m design rating | Published configuration or reported trial baseline; not a guarantee for all variants. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Acoustic navigation/communication with seabed and shipboard elements | Published configuration or reported trial baseline; not a guarantee for all variants. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
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.