Explosion may endanger SEAL mini-sub program

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The Los Angeles-class submarine Greenville carries the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ASDS is a mini-submarine that rides attached to the top of a much larger Los Angeles-class sub.


Explosion may endanger SEAL mini-sub program
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 9, 2008 18:22:42 EST

The long-stalled future of the U.S. special warfare community’s troubled mini-submarine is even cloudier after a serious explosion and fire struck the craft last month, ironically on the cusp of a new mission and a new way ahead for the program.

The Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle 1 (ASDS-1) was having its lithium-ion batteries charged Nov. 9 when an explosion started a battery fire that burned for about six hours. No one was aboard the 60-ton craft, which was on shore at its base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Federal firefighters sealed the ASDS to put out the fire and continued to hose it down for several hours to cool hot spots. The mini-sub remained sealed for more than two weeks before the hatch was opened.

“The Navy has not yet determined the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage,” Lt. Clay Doss, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, said Dec. 5. Two investigations are underway to determine the fire’s cause and the extent of the damage, he added.

Sources familiar with the incident said that, in addition to fire damage, the craft likely would have significant water damage from having its interior flooded to fight the fire.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/navy_dn_asdsfire_120908w/%2e