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	Navy successfully launches controversial ASDS mini-sub Powered by CDNN - Cyber Diver News Network by LAMAR BENNINGTON HONOLULU, Hawaii (17 Sep 2002) -- The over-budget and often-delayed Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) mini-sub has successfully completed launch and recovery testing, the final phase of tests prior to Operation Evaluation scheduled for mid-2003. ASDS Boat 1 completed multiple launch and recovery docking exercises with the USS Greeneville, the Los Angeles class attack submarine that made international headlines last year after colliding with a Japanese fishing vessel off Oahu. ASDS-1 is a battery-powered electric-motor, 65-foot dry mini-submarine designed by Northrop Grumman to secretly insert and extract 8-16 SEALs and their equipment into high-threat environments. The $230 million submersible can submerge to depths of 245-meters (800-feet) and travel 125 nautical miles at a speed of 8 knots. Navy SEALs exit ASDS minisub It is designed to replace the MkVIII SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV), a wet submersible that transports six to eight SEALs wearing scuba gear and exposed to cold ocean water, an experience Capt. Joe Fallone, program manager for the Navy Sea Systems Command,  describes as "being locked in the trunk of a car in full dive gear, with a fire hose on you." Lt. Cmdr. Bob Wilson told CDNN ASDS will enhance "undersea mobility capabilities for a wide range of special operations." "The big advantage to this is we will be able to take the SEALs over a longer distance with more equipment and get them there dry," Cmdr. Wilson added.  "They will be fresh for the operation and have that much more capabilities." Another advantage of the ASDS system is that it can be transported in several different ways. It can be carried on nuclear submarines, surface ships and amphibiouscraft, flown aboard a C-5 or C-17 transport plane or moved overland on specially designed trailer-trucks. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK SCUBA FORUM DISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum   More about ASDS Mission Provide clandestine undersea mobility for SOF personnel and their mission support equipment Description Manned, dry-combatant mini-submarine Operates in a wide range of environmental extremes and threat environments Provides increased range and payload capacity, robust communication, loiter capability, and diver protection from the elements Ample, dry habitable environment for SOF personnel and equipment Rapid lock-out/lock-in capability Transportable by sea, air or land Status ASDS contract awarded in 1994 for design, construction, and testing of the lead ASDS vehicle, a Land Transport Vehicle, host submarine conversion, and options to construct up to five follow-on production units First ASDS constructed and delivered: FY 2000 Contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation; Annapolis, Maryland ASDS Specifications Length: 65 feet Beam: 6.75 feet Height: 8.25 feet Dry Weight: 55 tons Range: 125+ miles Speed: 8+ knots Propulsion: 67 hp electric motor (Ag-Zn battery) Diving Depth: Classified Crew: Two (2) (pilot and navigator) Masts: 2 (Port - periscope, Starboard - Communication + Global Positioning System) Sonar: Forward Looking - detect natural/man made obstacles Side Looking - terrain & bottom mapping, mine detection Passengers: Up to sixteen SEALs, depending on equipment loads   CDNN TOP NEWS STORIES
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