US Navy SEALs get their own "dry" mini-sub

Midget submarines with frogmen packed inside or riding externally have been an essential part of military warfare since the Second World War. Japan used five in the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941. However, now for the first time the US Navy has deployed a mini-sub for covert missions by Seal commandos which is like a smaller version of a traditional submarine with a pressurised hull. It’s comfy and warm for the two-man crew and eight Seal passengers, without the need for breathing apparatus and wetsuits. The 30-ton dry combat submersible is a dramatic improvement on the long-used US Navy mini-sub which is called a wet submersible because the Seals have to sit externally in breathing gear, exposed to freezing water as the vehicles move ahead. Two of the new advanced mini-submarines built by Lockheed Martin from a British design are now operational. Although their whereabouts is classified, this latest model of a mini-sub for special operations missions would be ideal in the Pacific for challenging China’s attempted maritime dominance of the region in any future conflict. The mini-sub is based on the S351 Nemesis designed by the British company Marlin Submarines (MSubs) in Plymouth. The company has been working with Lockheed Martin since the Pentagon awarded the contract for the new special sub for the US Navy Seals in 2016. “The dry combat submersible has the potential to transform undersea warfare for special operators,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement. The company said the new mini-sub would provide special operators with a safe, clandestine delivery over long distances “in a completely dry environment”. The Seals are most famous for the mission in 2011 when they landed by helicopter at the secret compound near Abbottabad in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was living, and shot dead the founder of the al-Qaeda international terrorist organisation. However, they are also skilled, after the harshest of training programmes, to carry out underwater sabotage and demolition missions. The pressurised mini-sub will enable Seals to arrive at their target destination “warm, rested, hydrated and ready”. Current min-subs with frogmen on board are launched from special dry deck shelters built into Virginia-class and Ohio-class submarines. However, the new dry combat submersibles are too big. They will have to be launched for secret missions from a surface warship. Or they could be delivered to forward locations by a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. The leaders of the original midget submarines for military warfare were Japan, Germany and Italy. The Soviet Union also had a midget submarine programme in the 1930s. In September 1943 the Royal Navy launched a dozen midget submarines, or X-craft, to plant depth charges on the hull of the German battleship, Tirpitz, off the north of Norway. Although many of the subs came to grief, two managed to get through the underwater mines and torpedo nets to reach the battleship. Huge explosions caused the Tirpitz to lift 3ft in the air. It was severely damaged. The commanders of the two X-craft were awarded the Victoria Cross.