America’s undersea advantage sails on

The State ^ | September 7, 2006 | W. Thomas Smith Jr.

[SuzyQ2]

In the pre-dawn darkness of Sept. 7, 1776 — exactly 230 years ago today — an odd-looking barrel-shaped craft silently made its way down the Hudson River from Manhattan toward a British warship, HMS Eagle, anchored in New York harbor. ...

Clearly, the U.S. Navy today maintains the most technologically sophisticated submarine fleet on the planet. But it is not just a fleet of fast-attacks and big nuclear missile-armed “boomers.”

To fight the war on terror, the Navy continues to develop its special-operations capable Advanced SEAL Delivery System, a super-stealthy miniature submarine bristling with electronic wizardry and capable of delivering 14 Navy SEALs (SEa-Air-Land commandos) anywhere in the world.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Worked on the ASDS interior arrangements and cables.

Lots of money into that thing: It changed from a simple "get the job done by the Seals" to a NASA-level "man-rated" mini-sub.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Ah yes, the Columbia, SC rag that chortled as Charleston's Navy Base, the longest serving submarine homeport, was closed. Longer serving than even SubBase New London.

Like Clinton they said 'put some ice on it,' you'll get over it.

[GarySpFc]

I didn't think the new sub for SEALs was a mini-sub?

[patton]

Mission creep. LOL.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Don't expect accuracy from the MSM.

[Robert A Cook PE]

I didn't think the new sub for SEALs was a mini-sub?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/NAVY_SEALs_ASDS_Cutaway_lg.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/forces_special_ops/index.php&h=293&w=673&sz=36&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=IT135b_wzS8nBM:&tbnh=60&tbnw=138&prev=/images%3Fq%3DASDS%2BSeals%2B%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

Long image id, but that is the interior.

Another foreign source, showing the ASDS out of water, its parent article compares the ASDS to other submersibles...

http://www.navyseals.cz/webfoto/photo/foto_technika/cluny_ponorky/miniponorky_asds/asds1.jpg

Will another be built? Can't tell. I think the original sponsors got badly burned with the extra costs and delays of "specification creep" ...

[skinkinthegrass]

Will another be built? Can't tell. I think the original sponsors got badly burned with the extra costs and delays of "specification creep"

not likely.
B/C of Gold-Plating gets 'em every time....many don't want to be sujected (again) to the "problems".

[Freemeorkillme]

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/NAVY_SEALs_ASDS_Cutaway_lg.gif

[gaijin]

I love new weapons, but I heard it's TERRIFICALLY over-budget, super newfangled, unreliable as hell, and everybody hates it.

Just totally screwed-up.

[presidio9]

[rottndog]

geez, that looks smaller than the subs at the old submarine ride and Disneyland.

I wonder what it will sound like breaking up at crush depth...

[presidio9]

It's big enough to take out a supertanker in Hormuz before we get a chance to stop it.

[rottndog]

Yeah, but it would only get one, and in short order after that Iran's entire navy would be completely wiped out.