Ocean Engineering Technology Development

The Ocean Engineering Tech Dev program (PE 0603713N) is a U.S. Navy research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) initiative focused on overcoming operational limitations in manned diving missions, submarine rescue, recovery, salvage, underwater ship husbandry, underwater construction, and naval special operations. The program's overarching goal is to advance biomedical technology, diver life support equipment, and operational procedures to enhance the safety, survivability, and performance of Navy divers and submarine crews. It is managed under Navy Appropriation/Budget Activity 1319, BA 4: Advanced Component Development & Prototypes, and is executed through a combination of in-house Navy labs, university partnerships, and commercial contractors.

Deep Submergence Bio Med Dev specifically aims to develop advanced biomedical and bioengineering technologies to reduce deaths and permanent injuries among submariners in disabled submarine (DISSUB) scenarios and during submarine escape and rescue operations. Key objectives include research into diver health, safety, and effectiveness, with a focus on understanding human performance and stress management in extreme environments such as cold/warm water and high altitude. Deliverables include improved medical guidance and procedures for submarine rescue, life support parameters, decompression sickness prevention, pulmonary oxygen toxicity mitigation, and decision support systems for senior survivors.

Within this project, the Diver Health and Safety subline supports research on decompression safety, treatment of decompression sickness, and development of advanced decompression models for challenging environments. The project investigates diving physiology, thermal exposure, gas mixture alterations, and sustained operations, aiming to establish exposure limits and mitigation strategies for pulmonary and CNS oxygen toxicity. Plans for FY 2025 and FY 2026 include continued research on contaminated water diving, wearable devices for real-time decompression prediction, and analysis of stimulant waivers for divers in special operations.

The Submarine Escape and Rescue subline focuses on developing decompression procedures for operators of the Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS), adjunctive therapies for DISSUB survivors, and updated guidance for survival supplies. Research includes flexible computer-generated decompression schedules, medical triage procedures, mitigation strategies for hyperbaric oxygen exposures, and toxic gas analysis. Efforts for FY 2025 and FY 2026 involve improving electronic decision support tools, studying inert gas elimination and lung injuries, and exploring alternative breathing gases to reduce oxygen toxicity.

Shallow Depth Diving EQ is dedicated to developing and modernizing systems that support submarine escape and rescue missions, as well as conventional diver operations such as ship husbandry, salvage, and underwater construction. The project replaces outdated systems with certifiable, modern diving equipment to maximize safety and efficiency. Research and development efforts include diver tools, tracking and navigation technologies, visual enhancement, contaminated water diving protection, and recompression chamber advancements. The project also supports the modernization of the Submarine Rescue System (SRS) to address reliability and obsolescence issues, ensuring a minimum 15-year service life extension.

This project encompasses several sublines, including Diving (N97), which focuses on life support, SCUBA, gas analysis, thermal protection, and diver tools. Plans for FY 2025 and FY 2026 involve the development and testing of the Deep Sea Expeditionary No D (DSEND) suit for deep diving without lengthy decompression, digital communications for improved diver safety, cooling suits for contaminated water applications, and ongoing testing of Authorized for Navy Use (ANU) items. The Submarine Escape and Rescue (N97) subline continues critical technology upgrades for the SRS, including micro-electronics, launch and recovery system enhancements, atmospheric sensing, and through-hull communications for improved DISSUB rescue capabilities.

The Diving (N95) subline supports Naval Expeditionary Combat Command Diving, with ongoing development of the Fly Away Mixed Gas (FMGS) System Refresh to improve transportability, reduce gas usage, and enhance emergency gas supply availability. The acquisition strategy for both projects leverages competitive contracting, peer review, and annual project selection processes to ensure operational relevance and technical rigor. The Ocean Engineering Tech Dev program addresses critical capability gaps in Navy diving and submarine rescue, supporting both immediate operational needs and long-term modernization objectives.