Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group

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in D u S t r y in t e r V i e w Sp e c i a l Op e r at i O n S te c h n O l O g y Q: What is STIDD’s relationship or background with the special operations forces community? A: In 2000, USSOCOM issued a request for proposal [RFP] for a new diver propulsion vehicle [DPV]. STIDD responded to the RFP with the Diver Propulsion Device [DPD], which included an innovative collapsible hull design reducing stowed volume to a fraction of any other DPV. The DPD met all Naval special warfare requirements and technical specifications, and STIDD was subsequently awarded a production contract. Since then, in addition to the Navy SEALs, the Marine Corps special operations units and Army special forces have adopted the DPD in large quantities as their exclusive combat diving vehicle. Q: What is today’s SOF customer asking for? A: All of the SOF end-users who use the DPD, currently nearly two dozen international SOF units in addition to U.S. SOF, want a proven, reliable and safe product which gives them all of the critical performance specifications, to include speed, range, operating depth, payload and navigation essential to the conduct of maritime infil/exfil missions. We understand that, and have developed the DPD and modified it when required to ensure it would perform when needed. As a result, the DPD has exceeded customer expectations during use in successful military operations around the world. Q: Aren’t there a number of other products on the market comparable to the DPD? A: No. The DPV market is full of recreational, luxury toy type scooter products 36 | SOTECH 8.9 David Wilberding Vice President STIDD Systems Inc. that aren’t optimized, nor certified for military applications. When STIDD developed the DPD for SOF, in addition to ruggedizing the unit with hard coat anodized marine grade aluminum, we included an interior payload capability, an operating depth of over 80 meters, and a high accuracy onboard mission planning and submerged navigation system. Additionally, during the USSOCOM directed test and evaluation process, the DPD received an approved for Navy use listing and had its Lithium-cobalt 300ah battery certified sub-safe by the Navy. No other DPVs in the market have both the DPD’s SOF-based specifications and the Lithium battery certifications that ensure safety during both operation and transport aboard Navy ships. Q: How about overall DPD performance characteristics? A: The DPD is propelled by an infinitely variable speed 26V DC electric thruster which enables the DPD, when fully loaded with two combat divers, their equipment and an additional 50 kg of available payload, to travel farther and faster than any other DPV available. With proper hydrographic mission planning enabled by the onboard RNAV system, the DPD can operate fully loaded anywhere in the world. Q: What type of maintenance support and training do you offer? A: Due to design considerations and material selection, the DPD is virtually maintenance free. After an operation, all that is required is a fresh water rinse and battery recharging. Our field technicians and trainers are all former SOF personnel who have decades of experience with DPVs. They provide not only routine maintenance and training visits to endusers around the world, but also conduct in-water DPD demonstrations and new user training at the STIDD submersible test and evaluation facility located near Key West, Fla. Over the years STIDD has developed a hard-earned reputation as an extremely responsive, customer support focused company. In large part this is due to our team of highly experienced submersible engineers and program managers, located at STIDD headquarters in Greenport, N.Y. This team manages all DPD-related issues to include engineering change proposals, product delivery and export compliance, with the ultimate goal of ensuring every customer is satisfied. Q: Are there any new technologies you are working on? A: Yes. We recently fielded the recon-navigation [RNAV] for the DPD. We designed and developed the RNAV to address SOF users’ requirements for submerged navigation. The RNAV transforms a standard DPD into the functional equivalent of a two-man one-quarter swimmer delivery vehicle at a small fraction of the price and maintenance cost. The RNAV can upload mission planning data from a laptop or download completed mission tracks to a laptop via its remote memory card reader. Mission planning data is displayed on a highvisibility moving map display and can be easily modified en route through a glovedhand pushbutton interface. The RNAV’s real-time position information, bottom contour tracking, leg and mission timers all assist in ensuring extremely accurate submerged navigation. The addition of a doppler velocity log has made the STIDD RNAV the most capable DPV navigation system available. O www.SOTECH-kmi.com
Next Issue Cover and In-Depth Interview with: Admiral Eric T. Olson Commander USSOCOM His interview in English also will be translated into Arabic for distribution in the Middle East. Special Feature: Weapon Optics An examination of close-range weapon optics, including red-dot and green-dot, holographic technology. Features UGVs for the EOD Mission Intrusion Detection Satellite Communications Weapons Systems February 2011 Volume 9, Issue 1 Insertion Order Deadline: January 25, 2011 • Closing Date: February 1, 2011
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Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group

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