New airlock mini-sub for US Navy SEAL 'operations'

The "A" Register ^ | 1/11/2010 | The "A" Register

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The US Navy SEALs, America's secretive frogman-commando elite, are to get a new and enlarged pocket submarine which will allow them to travel most of the way to an objective inside in the dry and then exit through an airlock before swimming on for their final approach.

Ordinary "wet" SDV mini-sub in action. The SEALs and comparable elite forces such as the British SBS have long used "wet" Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) to approach an objective below the waves, allowing them to move faster and further than an unaided frogman can. With a normal SDV, the frog-trooper isn't inside a pressure hull - he is immersed in the surrounding water. This can be a problem, as hours spent unmoving in cold water can sap the strength of even the steeliest underwater warrior. Hence the desire for a mini-sub with a proper pressure hull and an airlock, allowing attacking frogmen to travel dry.

For many years, the SEALs were known to be working on this via the so-called Advanced Swimmer Delivery System (ASDS). But the prototype ASDS was dogged by technical snags and never reached an acceptable standard of performance. It was sternly criticised by the US Government Accountability Office.

The coup de grace for the unfortunate ASDS was administered when it caught fire while stored ashore and was gutted. This left the SEALs reliant on their trusty 1970s-vintage open-water Mark 8 SDVs. (There was also a Mark 9, capable of firing torpedoes, but this was retired in the 1990s*).

[colorado tanker]

A picture:

It's not entirely clear to me if this is the same boat, but this is supposed to be the interior of the S-301.

[dinodino]

OMG, that is SOOOO cool. Where can I get one?

[colorado tanker]

I don't know if they'd sell you one or not, but they're on this website:

http://www.msubs.com/S301.htm

Agreed, they are way cool!

[Last Dakotan]

Needs a feminine touch.

[Steve Van Doorn]

a military sub with a window. is that a first? very cool

[CaptRon]

LOL!

[Poe White Trash]

What’s with the wooden board on the floor?

[colorado tanker]

Needs a feminine touch.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

If they are working on it in the photo, maybe it's to keep tools from falling through the perforated decking.

[TXnMA]

Not much for creature comforts visible there — but that doesn’t seem to be a big thing with SEALS, anyway...

[colorado tanker]

What’s with the wooden board on the floor?

You got me, I was a tanker not a squid. Maybe it has to do with the fact it's still in development? Or maybe the metal floor was slippery when wet?

[Poe White Trash]

Thanks! That makes sense.

[Shimmer1]

Navy family ping list

[colorado tanker]

This thing is designed to get the SEALS from a mother ship to near their objective, so it’s not for long voyages. Looks like they’d be pretty well stuffed in there if it took the full complement.

[ASA Vet]

SOCOM Ping

[upchuck]

Does that garage door in the third photo have an automatic opener?

[TXnMA]

Looks like some of those edges and corners might be rough on wet suits, etc... My guess is that the photos were made without some protective/cushioned covers in place.

Even the Hunley's interior looked more roomy and "people friendly"...

[ansel12]

What’s with the wooden board on the floor?

That is a $4200.00 wooden "board", it is "special", it is really not a board in the conventional sense at all, it is actually layers of wood, bound together with a glue, once formed it can be cut with a saw into different sizes at the users end. Fascinating stuff.

[Tonytitan]

Is that first picture a Photoshop job or is this thing actually under water with no visible crew?