General Atomics press release
The DCS is a long endurance delivery vehicle capable of transporting personnel in a dry environment. GA-EMS is under contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation to provide LiFT batteries to power the DCS propulsion and internal support systems.
“With demonstrated performance through sea trials and the confidence of USSCOM, our LiFT battery system is becoming a go-to technology when performance is essential for mission assurance,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The acceptance of the first DCS with LiFT technology represents a solid leap toward meeting the demand for battery systems that offer greater reliability, capability and safety to support critical undersea operations. We are proud to be the provider of this energy source and look forward to seeing DCS vehicles with LiFT battery systems onboard achieve USSOCOM acceptance.”
The LiFT battery system’s modular design and single cell fault tolerance is designed to prevent uncontrolled and catastrophic cascading Lithium-ion cell failure, improving the safety of personnel and platforms while keeping power available for high mission assurance. LiFT battery systems have undergone rigorous at-sea testing by the Navy and have been classified for use on undersea vehicles by Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd (DNV-GL), an international accredited registrar and classification society for the maritime industry, further demonstrating the safe operation of the LiFT battery system architecture.
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About USSOCOM DCS
The Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) is a type of SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) which has a dry interior to allow the SEALs to arrive at their target fresher than the usual wet-sub where they have to wear their diving gear at all times. The combat swimmers lock out of the submersible to carry out their mission.
According to our colleague and Naval News contributor H I Sutton, USSOCOM announced in July 2016 a $166m multi-year contract for Lockheed Martin to design, build, test and maintain a production model of the DCS. Lockheed are partnered with The Submergence Group LLC and their British design shop/factory MSUBS to deliver a total of three craft.
DCS Specifications
| Length | 12 m |
| Width | 2.2 m |
| Weight | 30 tonnes |
| Operating Depth | 36+ m |
| Crew/Pax | 2 pilots / 8 passengers divers |
| Range | 25+ nautical mile |
| Transport | Various |
| Power | Battery |
