SEAL Delivery Vehicle

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Navy Seals make SDV clear

The SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) , also known as Swimmer Delivery Vehicle , Seal Delivery System or Swimmer Delivery System , is a mini submarine of the United States Navy SEALs , a special unit of the US Navy . It has a very quiet electric drive .

Precursor / development

Two DDS on USS Kamehameha (SSN-624)

Before the development of the SDV / ASDS, United States Navy SEALs such as weapon divers were still being brought to the scene of operations in most other countries during covert operations by submarines if they could not be transported by air. The significantly larger remaining distance is covered by swimming or diving under water. Entry and exit was initially through the torpedo tubes , until the beginning of the 1980s for larger boats locks were built into the boats, which enabled the simultaneous discharge of larger diving rots. The conception with two DDS , each of which can hold a diving group of 20 men or one SDV, alternatively four rubber boats, was a logical further development in 1990.

Small submarines based on the SDV / ASDS model were already used in World War II and have since been developed and used by most of the navies.

SDV

It has no pressure chamber , so that it can only transport a maximum of four divers over a distance of five to ten kilometers. Accordingly, the purpose of the device is to be able to bring a small team ashore unnoticed.

Due to this short range, SDVs are brought close to the place of use in submarines. Submarines of the Los Angeles-class submarine and the Ohio class are frequently equipped with SDV. For this purpose, so-called dry deck shelters can be installed behind the tower , which contain a dry lock to the boat, an SDV hangar and a pressure chamber.

The seal teams on board can get ready for action in this dry lock while the submarine approaches the target area and do not have to use their rebreather until immediately before flooding .

ASDS / JMMS

USS Greeneville with Advanced SEAL Delivery System

The Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) was about 20 meters long and had a displacement of about 70 tons. It was operated by a crew of two. A lithium-ion battery supplied the boat with sufficient energy for an operational radius of around 200 km at a speed of almost 7.5 knots (14 km / h) and a diving depth of 200 feet (61 m).

Up to 14 soldiers with light luggage or eight soldiers with standard equipment, diving equipment and weapons could be transported in the dry pressure chamber. The ASDS had a lock (so-called lock-in-out chamber, LIO for short), which made it possible to release SEALs under water and take them up again without having to flood the entire submarine. In addition, the ASDS was equipped with passive and active sonar as well as navigation and communication equipment.

The first studies for the ASDS were commissioned in 1983, and various designs were drawn up in the late 1980s. The goal was to develop a submersible means of transport that can transport maritime special forces over long distances unnoticed. Unlike the Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV), the dry diving cell should avoid unnecessarily long periods in cold seawater.

Construction of the first ASDS began in 1996 and was delivered in 2000. It cost around $ 300 million, exceeding initial estimates by $ 140 million. For the ordered five planned submarines, construction costs of around 125 million dollars each were expected. However, the production of the second ASDS was put on hold in December 2005 and in April 2006 the entire order was finally withdrawn and the ASDS acquisition program discontinued.

The only completed ASDS was used in several exercises starting in 2003. However, it burned down completely on November 9, 2008 after a fire broke out on board while the batteries were being charged. The ASDS was written off due to the estimated $ 237 million repair cost.

The follow-up project is called Joint Multi-Mission Submersible (JMMS). It is being developed as a mobile, manned, dry underwater platform to provide an operational base for small special units that are to be deployed in enemy-controlled and technically monitored areas. In addition, the capabilities in relation to electronic warfare in this new project will be well above the capabilities of the ASDS. The 2010 military budget requested $ 43.4 million for the JMMS development studies. A budget of $ 28.109 million was approved for the development of 3 units for 2010 and a budget of $ 14.924 million for 2011. The official commissioning is planned for 2016.

Web links

Commons : SEAL Delivery Vehicle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• navytimes
• globalsecurity.org (English)
• SDV / ASDS at fas.org (English)
• naval-technology.com (English)
• Information on us-navyseals.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/jmms.htm
2. ↑ http://www.janes.com/products/janes/defence-security-report.aspx?id=1065928511  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.