Supplying NURC With Gliders
After extensive technical review, Teledyne Webb Research has been awarded a contract to supply the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) in La Spezia (Italy) with Slocum Gliders. Teledyne Webb has already delivered a vehicle simulator for training purposes, and has received a delivery order for four Slocum gliders. The contract includes an option for up to three additional systems over a three-month period.
The Slocum glider is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that is driven by a variable buoyancy system as opposed to a traditional propeller.The long-range and duration capabilities of Slocum gliders make them ideally suited for extensive data collection over a large area. Carrying a wide variety of sensors, the vehicle can be programmed to patrol for weeks at a time, surfacing to transmit their data to shore while downloading new instructions at regular intervals.To date, Teledyne Webb Research has delivered 124 Slocum gliders to 40 user groups, which have collected data over 120,000 km of the world’s oceans.