Disabled Submarine Escape and Rescue Considerations

The US Navy's submarine escape and rescue program supports US and foreign submarine services, providing needed capability to rescue sailors in the event of a distressed submarine (DISSUB) as demonstrated in support of the missing Argentinian submarine ARA SAN JUAN in November 2017.
The U.S. Navy operates the Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS) and the Submarine Rescue Chamber Fly-away System (SRCFS) for deep and shallow water rescue. As a result of lessons learned from the SAN JUAN events, the program is actively pursuing technology improvements to address shallow water rescue capability gaps, enhance survivability challenges of DISSUB sailors before and after rescue, improve operational proficiencies, maintain efficiency, and increase international engagements.
While maintaining existing rescue readiness, the final manned testing and certification of submarine decompression system will be completed, delivering to the fleet the ability to recover and medically treat sailors from a pressurized DISSUB. Additionally, the system completed CHILEMAR 2018 (August 2018), which focused on the challenges associated with search and localization of a DISSUB, and Exercise Grey Lady (October 2018), which involved the first-time simulation of a USN submarine rescue. This presentation will serve to update government and industry partners on the status of our capabilities, current acquisitions and procurements, highlights of CHILEMAR 2018 and Exercise Grey Lady and to share perspective on future technology objectives.