ASDS Mini-Sub Program Sinks, As Replacements Rise
Jul 11, 2011 16:05 EDT
(click to view full)
Self-funded Proteus; SWCS development contract. (July 6/11)
Northrop Grumman’s ASDS “Advanced SEAL Delivery System” aimed to build mini-subs as successors to the current SDV (SEAL/Swimmer Delivery Vehicle). It began with great promise. The SDVs, carried on US modified Benjamin Franklin Class [SSBN-640] special warfare submarines, as well as new Ohio Class SSGNs, were old – and cold. ASDS would offer a modern, dry alternative, with advanced sensors besides.
In the end, however, technical and reliability issues proved insuperable. The program spiraled out of control, with cost overruns of 400+%. In its place, a less ambitious SWCS replacement program is beginning to take shape, even as the private sector begins to step in with options of its own. This DID FOCUS article chronicles the ASDS program’s history, its designated successors, and emerging privately-funded alternatives…
- What’s Next? The SWCS/JMMS
- To Davy Jones’ Locker & Back: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Appendix A: DID Op/Ed, December 2005
- Appendix B: The ASDS Program & Mission
- Appendix C: ASDS Taking on Water
- Appendix D: Additional Readings and Sources
Get instant access all DII coverage of the mini-sub when you subscribe to DII. Our cross-linked article network and reference materials include:
- Events chronology including its technical, reliability, and 400% cost overruns, temporary cancellation, and final destruction
- The 2007 GAO report on the ASDS program: "...the U.S. Special Operations Command has continued to invest millions of dollars to fix existing problems and address new ones in an attempt to make the boat operational."
- The ASDS' replacement SWCS/JMMS program
- Quick Links to the library of ongoing DII coverage including: "USA Spending $7.1M to Upgrade SEAL Delivery Vehicles, "SSGN ëTactical Trident' Subs: Special Forces and Super Strike Military Transformation," "It's a Boat, It's a Sub, It'sÖ..," "ASDS Mini-Sub Program Goes to Davey Jones' Locker," and "$9.5M Engineering Services Contract Includes ASDS Work"
- Links to related articles and resources including the concept of mini-sub use in the drug trade
- Photos
Subscribe now to the Defense Industry Insider. DII covers hundreds of defense procurement programs, and gives thousands of links, expert analysis and the latest industry news.
