China’s self-developed unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Qianlong-2 (File photo)

China’s self-developed unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Qianlong-2 accomplished its first experimental application task on the evening of Feb. 15, 2016, according to a report in People's Daily.

On the evening of Feb. 15, the AUV was withdrawn to its carrier Xiangyanghong 10, according to the report.

The unmanned AUV, named Qianlong-2, can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters, and is tasked to explore a hydrothermal area of the bottom of the sea which covers an area of over 20 square kilometers. The AUV moved around along several lanes on the bottom of the sea to facilitate its sensor to collect data.

On Feb.14, the AUV was slowly put into the water. After 30-hour continuous work, the AUV stopped works automatically and began to float. In the previous acceptance tests, the AUV had not worked under the Indian Ocean for more than 10 hours. This is the first time for the AUV to conduct full-voyage hydrothermal area test.

According to the report, this is the longest duration for Qianlong-2 to stay under water. It has been withdrawn successfully and the data collected are valid.