Role & capabilities
- Autonomous survey
- Seabed inspection
- Hovering intervention
- Primary domain
- Underwater
- System type
- Autonomous underwater vehicle
- Developer / manufacturer
- Saab
- Origin / production countries
- Sweden
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Single-hull Sabertooth; Double-hull Sabertooth
- Operators / programme customers
- Not established in the reviewed public sources
Evidence & current status
Public specifications are attributed to the cited sources. Advertised limits are not assumed to occur simultaneously.
Sabertooth is a hybrid underwater platform combining autonomous movement with close inspection and intervention functions. Saab offers single-hull and double-hull configurations, with different dimensions, masses, batteries and depth ratings. Both can hover and carry cameras, sonar and task-specific equipment. This makes the family relevant to seabed infrastructure work and to Saab's wider naval robotics portfolio.
The control arrangement is a defining distinction. Sabertooth can work untethered as an AUV, exchange commands using underwater communications, or operate in a tethered remotely operated mode. Those modes should not be collapsed into a claim that it has unrestricted continuous radio control underwater. Likewise, the double-hull vehicle's 3,000-metre rating does not apply to the single-hull 1,200-metre configuration. Saab has announced commercial orders, including an oil-and-gas customer in January 2018. That supports product maturity, but it is not evidence that a named military operator has accepted the same configuration. This profile therefore records a marketed dual-use family and keeps service claims qualified.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Hybrid AUV/ROV; single-hull or double-hull | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Battery-electric hovering vehicle | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Single: 3.6 × 0.66 × 0.45 m; double: 4 × 1.35 × 0.67 m | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | Launch mass: 650 kg single; 1,300 kg double | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Up to 5 knots single; 4 knots double | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Operating depth | 1,200 m single; 3,000 m double | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Camera and sonar; mission-dependent inspection tools | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Autonomous, acoustic/optical command or tethered ROV operation | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Commercial order announced
Saab announced a Sabertooth order from an unnamed oil-and-gas customer.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.