Phoenix International Holdings has received a $23.3 million modification to an existing contract for work on the Submarine Rescue DIving and Recompression System.
The modification, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, includes maintenance, engineering, field changes and operations with the SRDRS. The work is expected to be completed by August 2018 and will be conducted in San Diego, Calif.
SRDRS is a remotely operated submersible vehicle designed for rescuing the crews of damaged submarines unable to return to the surface. It is the replacement for the original Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle that was recently retired.
The Navy began developing deep sea rescue vehicles after the USS Thresher incident in 1963 when the nuclear powered attack submarine was lost with all hands during deep diving tests.
The SRDRS, 49 ft. long and capable of reaching a depth of 2000 ft., is designed to mate with the downed submarine's hatch and carry up to 16 crewmen at a time to the surface in a pressurized environment.
The SRDRS small enough to be transported by truck and aircraft and is deployed from a surface ship. A repressurization system in order to deliver hyperbaric treatment to rescued sailors as the vessel returns to the surface is currently under development.
Navy testing wireless charging stations for undersea drones
The Navy announced Monday it is developing technology for the wireless underwater recharging of unmanned undersea vehicles at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific.
Current UUVs used for reconnaissance, mine hunting, and other tasks need to be recharged manually at either port or ship. Underwater charging stations would allow the craft to stay on station for much longer per … read more
