Mark 8 Mod 0 SEAL Delivery Vehicle [SDV]

Mark 8 Mod 0 SEAL Delivery Vehicle [SDV]. National Navy UDT-Seal Museum. , The Mark 8 Mod 0 SDV began replacing the Mk 7 SDVs in the early 1980s, and still remains in service today. The SDV is a “wet submersible,” and unlike a classic dry mini submarine, the boat fills with water and submerges. SEALs breath from individually worn underwater breathing apparatus. An alternate source of air is provided to the operators via an air subsystem on board the vehicle. The SDV has sophisticated electronics, ballast, communications, navigation, and obstacle avoidance systems and is driven by a DC electric motor powered by silver zinc batteries. It is literally “flown” like an airplane underwater with the SEALs relying solely on the vehicle’s instruments for navigation. , , Information on the number of personnel it can carry, its operating depths, speed and distance is classified. The SDV can be deployed from and recovered by a surface ship, submarine, pier side, or ramp to meet specific mission or training requirements. The SDV is designed to clandestinely transport combat swimmers to and from the target area as they conduct maritime reconnaissance or direct action operations. , , In addition to its classified missions, the SDV was employed by Naval Special Warfare during Operation Desert Storm [1991] when SEALs were tasked with clearing area waterways of underwater mines. The SDV was also deployed at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom [2003] when SEALs successfully secured Iraq’s off-shore gas and oil terminals, averting the catastrophic ecological and financial devastation experienced during Desert Storm when Saddam Hussein directed the flooding of the Persian Gulf with oil and the sabotage of the wellheads in Kuwait.