STAR-BULLETIN / 2000 The Navy's new minisub has been undergoing sea trials at Pearl Harbor for the past three years.

Navy’s new minisub
almost ready to go

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

Despite a searing government report that says the Navy's new minisub is six years behind schedule and four times its original cost, planners say they believe they have "turned the corner" on problems caused by oversight and poor funding.

Capt. Brian Cullin, a spokesman for Navy Sea Systems, which oversees the program from Washington, D.C., told the Star-Bulletin yesterday that the Navy's Advanced SEAL Delivery System "suffered from underresourcing in the past."

The 65-foot sub has been undergoing sea trials at Pearl Harbor for the past three years. A General Accounting Office report cited faults with the sub's propeller system and an inadequate battery, among other problems.

Cullin said the final round of sea trials will be held in Hawaii beginning as early as this month.

The results of these tests, Cullin added, will determine the future of the $2 billion program to build a fleet of minisubmarines.

Testing of the 55-ton prototype began in May 2000. The battery-powered submarine is designed to carry up to 16 Navy SEALs -- the Navy's special-operations specialists -- to any beachhead. Two Pearl Harbor Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines -- the USS Charlotte and USS Greeneville -- were configured to carry the new experimental minisub on their decks.

The GAO report said the most persistent problems were that the sub "makes too much noise" underwater, and its electrical system repeatedly shorted out and drained the silver-zinc batteries more quickly than the Navy projected.

Northrop Grumman was supposed to have built six subs and two storage facilities by 1997 at a cost projected in 1994 at $524 million. It is now estimated that the program will cost $2 billion, with only one sub delivered this year.

Cullin said the experimental sub has logged more than 1,000 hours, including 110 dives.

"Program cost and schedule performance have stabilized and have been on track during the past year," he added.

The concept behind the development of the minisub is to keep SEALs as dry as long as possible. Currently, special-operations SEALS have to get suited up in scuba gear and are towed under water to the beach by a cigar-shaped submersible.

The Navy's newest minisub is large enough to accommodate SEALs inside, meaning the divers will remain dry for longer periods of time, ready for any operation. The Navy wants the sub to be able to operate as far as 115 miles on a battery charge and as deep as 200 feet.

The Navy maintains that the minisub being tested at Pearl Harbor meets all but two of the 16 benchmark requirements.

The GAO report said, "The capabilities of the boat outstripped the developer's resources."