A6K Ultra-Deep AUV

Exail A6K is a hover-capable autonomous underwater vehicle for survey and inspection at depths down to 6,000 metres. It can run missions of up to 30 hours, maintain low-altitude stability near the seabed and interrupt a survey when onboard detection identifies an area requiring closer inspection. Large side access panels allow a small shipboard team to reconfigure payloads and service equipment.

The payload section accepts synthetic-aperture sonar, multibeam echo sounders, sub-bottom profilers, environmental sensors, cameras, lasers and magnetometers. A6K is derived from the Ulyx vehicle co-developed with Ifremer, whose operational work validated the underlying 6,000-metre architecture. The A6K range extends that design into configurable scientific, offshore and government missions, including deep-sea mapping, pipeline and cable inspection, search and rescue, surveillance and reconnaissance.