The Double Eagle is a

remotely operated vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''. Definition This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the ai ...

(ROV) built by the Swedish defence company Saab Underwater Systems AB and used for the disposal of

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

Design

As of 2009, four versions of the ROV have been designed.Fletcher, ''Worldwide Undersea MCM Vehicle Technologies''Fish & Hollosi, ''Demining the deep'' The original version was named the Sea Eagle, and was a militarised variant of the civilian Sea Owl ROV. This unit was long, wide, and high, could travel at , and dive to . These ROVs saw service with the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

from 1984 onwards. The second version, named the Double Eagle, is larger, measuring in length, in width, and in height. The ROV weighs , can dive to , and travel at .

Current models

The Double Eagle Mark II is larger but lighter than the first Double Eagle. Measuring long, wide, and high, the unit weighs , dives to , and can reach . The Mark II entered service in 1994. The Mark III is longer and heavier than its predecessor. The ROV's payload can consist of scanning sonar, echo locations, doppler logs, or self-navigation systems. All Double Eagles are equipped with an extendable manipulator arm, which is commonly used to place a small explosive charge on a mine. The ROV can be modified to double as a self-propelled

variable depth sonar A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sour ...

: the Mark II Double Eagles fitted to the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

's s have been altered to carry a

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

TSM 2022 sonar, while a similar upgrade is to occur to the Mark III units being acquired for the Tripartites of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. The Double Eagle Mark II uses two 5

kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

brushless electric motor A brushless DC electric motor (BLDC motor or BL motor), also known as an electronically commutated motor (ECM or EC motor) or synchronous DC motor, is a synchronous motor using a direct current (DC) electric power supply. It uses an electronic ...

s for main propulsion, and six 0.4 kilowatt brushless electric motors for fine manoeuvering.Clarke, ''Magnetic signature of brushless electric motors'', p. 1 Mark III ROVs have four 7 kilowatt brushless electric motors as main thrusters. Double Eagles can operate in any orientation.

Operators

Mark II

* * ( Standard Flex module)Scott, ''Flexing a snap-to-fit fleet * *

Mark III

* * * ''Koster''-class minehunter *

Citations

References

* * * *{{cite journal , last=Scott , first=Richard , date=31 October 2001 , title=Flexing a snap-to-fit fleet , journal=Jane's Defence Weekly , publisher=Jane's Information Group Mine warfare countermeasures Robotic submarines