Keyport hosts DSEND First-Ever Open Water Evaluation

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport hosted the first-ever open water test of the Deep Sea Expeditionary with No Decompression suit June 8-12.

The cutting-edge atmospheric diving system is designed to protect divers from the crushing pressure of extreme ocean depths while eliminating the need for decompression. During the week-long evaluation alongside the Keyport Pier in Liberty Bay, three Keyport Navy Divers piloted the Gen 0 Prototype suit to the ocean floor, operating from the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory vessel of opportunity R/V Jack Robertson.
The event successfully simulated critical real-world Navy missions, including deep ocean salvage, underwater rescues, explosive ordnance disposal, and ship hull maintenance.

Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research in partnership with Naval Sea Systems Command, the DSEND open water evaluation aimed to transition the suit from controlled facility testing into a realistic, unpredictable saltwater environment.

“The overall goal of the program is to be able to do one-atmospheric diving, to reduce and eliminate the risk of decompression sickness and reduce the effects of bottom time on the diver,” explained Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris Lansford.

A major highlight of the evaluation was the successful recovery of an Iver 2 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, which was sunk for the purposes of the exercise. The DSEND pilot, working in tandem with a Remotely Operated Vehicle and topside engineers, successfully located the UUV, rigged a lifting device using the suit's mechanical grippers, and secured the vehicle for recovery.

The rigorous testing exposed the DSEND suit to factors like variable visibility, limited traction, and a silty/muddy seafloor, allowing the divers to test its maneuverability. Data gathered during these evolutions will directly inform the design and performance requirements for the upcoming Gen 1 suit.

This testing included a prototype thruster pack, which proved highly valuable, enhancing the diver's speed and buoyancy to combat the suction effects of the heavy boots in muddy terrain.

To ensure divers can perform complex tasks, the team evaluated mechanical gripper dexterity, rotational joint durability in high-particulate environments, and fine motor skills. Divers successfully adapted hand pods for underwater tool usage, demonstrating the physical versatility required for salvage operations.

The evaluation also featured a newly designed, updated diver life support system. This upgraded system features enhanced ducting and a larger carbon dioxide absorbent volume, which was tested under both constant and sensor-driven variable fan speeds to optimize the diver’s internal environment.

Navy Diver First Class Onofre Lopez, one of the first Navy Divers to pilot the DSEND suit in open water, highlighted the immediate operational advantages the system brings to the fleet.

“It allows divers to descend without restrictions and not worry about bottom time and air limitations,” Lopez said. “Bottom time is a premium when you’re on surface-supplied air. There’s a little bit of growing pains as far as ballasting the suit, but other than that, it allows us to stay comfortable essentially indefinitely.”

The success of the open water evaluation was the result of a collaborative effort across the defense, academic, and private sectors. In addition to the Keyport Dive Locker and Keyport’s Unmanned and Theater Undersea Warfare Systems Department personnel, participating organizations included the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor Dive Locker, Office of Naval Research, NAVSEA Supervisor of Diving & Salvage, NUWC Newport Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City and Carderock Divisions, Nuytco Research, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center.

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Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.