Advanced SEAL Delivery System
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USS Greeneville with the ASDS attached
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) |
| Builders: | Northrop Grumman Electronics Sensors and Systems Division, Oceanic Systems subdivision |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy
|
| Built: | 1996–2000 |
| In commission: | July 2003 – November 2008 |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Cancelled: | 5 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submersible |
| Displacement: | 60 long tons (61 t) |
| Length: | 65 ft (20 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Draft: | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
| Range: | 125 nmi (232 km) |
| Test depth: | "Classified" |
| Troops: | 16 SEALs |
| Crew: | 2 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Forward- and side-looking sonar |
Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) was a midget submarine operated by the United States Navy and United States Special Operations Command designed to provide stealthy submerged transportation for special operations forces (primarily United States Navy SEALs) from the decks of nuclear submarines for primary use as an insertion platform for covert and clandestine operations. The program was abandoned after the only prototype example of the class was damaged beyond economic repair in an accidental fire.
ASDS was conceived to address the need for stealthy long-range insertion of special operations forces on covert or clandestine missions. Previous mini-subs were of the wet variety, exposing combat Swimmers to long, cold waits during transit that impeded combat readiness on arrival, and had limited blind underwater navigational capability.
The first study to define ASDS was performed in 1983. Competitive conceptual designs were developed in the late 1980s, the Request for Proposal was issued in 1993, and the first contract for design and construction of the ASDS was awarded in 1994.
The navy has stated a requirement for six units, but that was established before it decided to convert four Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines to guided-missile submarines (SSGNs) with the additional mission of support of special operations forces. Each of the SSGNs will be capable of carrying two ASDS vehicles.
The first ASDS became operational (completed testing and evaluation) from its base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 2003 and completed its first deployment on board an attack submarine, the USS Greeneville, to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf as a unit of Expeditionary Strike Group One. The first ASDS has yet to be joined by other units, as the program has been slowed by escalating costs and technical problems. A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study issued in 2003 cited two major technical problems: noisy propellers and silver-zinc batteries that depleted more quickly than planned. A new propeller made of composite material has been developed to rectify the noise problem. Development is under way on lithium-ion batteries to replace the silver-zinc batteries and enable the electrical system to meet the navy's requirements. Yardney Technical Products of Pawcatuck, Conn., has been awarded a $44 million contract modification to provide four lithium-ion batteries for the ASDS program by May 2009.
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