To remain effective in an era of near-peer warfare and to counter China's growing military, the US Special Operations Command and the Navy Seals are working on two new and improved mini-submarines.
The two new mini-subs, the Mark 11 Shallow Water Combat Submersible and the Dry Combat Submersible, will be the core of the naval special warfare's submersible fleet for decades to come.
The Mark 11 will be the new mini-sub. The new mini-sub has an increased operational range and a new command-and-control structure that will allow new technologies to be introduced more efficiently.
Two crew and four combat divers will be able to be carried on the Mark 11. The operators of the mini-sub will be exposed to the elements and will have to use dry suits and oxygen tanks while they are in use. The British Special Boat Service ordered the Mark 11.
The Mark 11 is expected to reach initial operating capability this summer. The Mark 8 will be phased out if everything goes as planned.
The Dry Combat Submersible is very heavy. The 40-foot mini-submarine will have a vastly longer operational range and greater capacity than the Mark 11 and will be more comfortable for the 10 special forces.
The Dry Combat Submersible is an electric truck that can do a lot of things at the same time and can be adapted and improved with new.
SOCOM's program manager for special-operations maritime systems said that Naval Special Warfare is looking at other ways to launch the Mark 11.
The Dry Deck Shelter, which is attached to a submarine's hull and allows combat divers to exit and enter while underway, is being worked on by Naval Special Warfare.
The Navy's Dry Deck Shelters were built in the 1980's and 90's and were expected to last 40 years. They would be able to operate until the century's end.
Direct-action capabilities are what the Navy Seals are known for. Over the last 20 years, high-profile operations, including the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, have fostered a belief that all the Seals do is kick down doors.
The SEAL teams are proficient in many skills. The two Seal Delivery Vehicle teams specialize in three different mission sets: underwater special operations troops, underwater special escort, and underwater special operations.
Naval Special Operations teams can support maritime counterterrorism operations by stealthily moving special operators close to a target that's in or near the water.
The extremely difficult mission set is one of the reasons why SEAL operators don't go to a delivery vehicle team. The members of the delivery vehicle team are combat divers. It's not uncommon to do eight to 10 hours of diving.
The delivery vehicle teams were first put up in the early 1980s.
Team One is based in Hawaii and is dedicated to the west coast and operations in the Pacific. The shift to great-power competition led to the re-established of the SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two. The dedicated delivery vehicle unit for the East Coast and operations in Europe is located in Virginia.
Naval Special Warfare Group 8 was created in 2020 through the consolidation of two other special warfare groups. When Group 8 was formed, the officer in charge of the delivery vehicle teams was chosen to lead it.
SOCOM has only one special-operations vehicle, the SEAL Delivery Vehicles. In a conflict with China, mini-subs with the Navy's attack submarines would be ideal for getting the Navy's SEALs into tough spots and denied areas, which will be essential for counteracting China's anti-access/ area-denial umbrella over the Western Pacific
"Our relationship with our submarine force has never been better," Rear Adm. Hugh Howard III said. The undersea is crucial to deterrence. It is a place where we must maintain advantage to critically deter our peers.
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