The U.S. Navy is exploring integration of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) with SEAL swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs) to enhance covert operations in heavily defended maritime environments, officials said at SOF Week.

Officials say combining crewed and uncrewed systems could boost mission effectiveness in high-risk chokepoints such as harbors, where stealth and survivability are critical and the risk of detection is elevated.

“If you can get somewhere in an SDV and then launch a UUV to go do something, then that would make you more capable,” Navy Capt. Mike Linn told TWZ.

“You could extrapolate, just as you would have an unmanned wingman in an aircraft, or a maritime surface co-pilot, the same can be said for underseas,” he continued. “So, if you have an unmanned system with you underwater, then I suppose you can use your imagination.”

The U.S. Navy operates two primary SEAL delivery submersible systems: the Shallow Water Combat Submersible (SWCS), also known as the Mk 11 SEAL Delivery Vehicle, and the Dry Combat Submersible (DCS).

The Mk 11 SWCS is a “wet” submersible that can carry up to eight passengers in addition to a two-person crew. The DCS, by contrast, is a larger midget submarine with a pressurized dry cabin that keeps operators out of the water. It carries a two-person crew plus up to eight SEALs and is designed for longer-range, more complex missions.

UUVs, often torpedo-shaped and launched from submarines or surface ships, are already used for missions including mine detection and environmental mapping.

Linn described the challenges the Navy still has to overcome to make the underwater teaming capability a reality. 

He said both crewed SDVs and UUVs are currently “deaf, dumb, and blind” in terms of their ability to communicate and coordinate to ensure they are in the right place at the right time.

“Through-water data transfer is difficult, and so the modality that you choose while remaining survivable is kind of difficult. And, also, in order to do that, you have to have pretty well synchronized systems,” he said. “We’re looking at all ways of transferring data through water. It can be acoustic, [and] there’s light-based transfers.”

He said testing is already underway to explore the potential pairing, with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, headquartered in Panama City, Florida, leading development efforts.

Navy special operators have also been seen training off the coast of Florida.

Linn could not say when the capability might become operational. “I think we’re still years away from having something at the reliability level that they want,” Linn added. “Again, back to the actual ones and zeros, and the modality of data transmission, [being at the] right time, right place,” and doing all of this “where you have to be survivable, that’s difficult.”