The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has taken delivery of the first dry combat submersible (DCS) equipped with the lithium-ion fault tolerant (LiFT) battery system.
The milestone was announced by the battery system developer General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS).
The 12-meter DCS is a long endurance delivery vehicle capable of transporting personnel in a dry environment. It has an operating depth of 36 meters and can transport 8 passenger divers and two pilots.
DCS has a dry interior, enabling longer mission durations with improved comfort and communication, with more space for additional crew. It contains a compartment to carry operators, a swimmer lock-in/lock-out compartment, and an aft command center where the pilot and copilot operate the submersible.
GA-EMS is under contract with Lockheed Martin 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 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.
