A rendering of the underwater helicopter facility in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]

The construction of an underwater helicopter facility in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, is progressing smoothly, with the facility expected to be operational by September.  

The 100-million-yuan ($14.06 million) facility, which will consist of a test pool area, an outdoor pool, and a supporting dock, will function as a research, manufacturing, and testing hub for advanced marine equipment, including underwater helicopters. 

The underwater helicopters, known as unmanned autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), with completely independent intellectual property rights in China, are capable of long-term deployment for underwater operations. Its capabilities include free takeoff and landing, stationary hovering, omnidirectional maneuverability, and close-to-bottom navigation - features that pose challenges for conventional AUVs.

The new AUVs can be utilized in various fields, such as underwater mobile observation, underwater resource exploration, underwater area patrol and detection, underwater pipeline monitoring and maintenance, underwater rescue and salvage, underwater archaeology, and intelligent operation and maintenance of offshore wind power.