ONR and NAVSEA develop DSEND Deep, an advanced diving suit

The U.S. Navy is testing a new deep-sea diving suit designed to let military divers operate at greater depths for longer periods while reducing the likelihood of decompression sickness.

The system, called the Deep Sea Expeditionary No-Decompression (DSEND) suit, is a joint effort led by the Office of Naval Research in partnership with Naval Sea Systems Command. According to the Navy, the program focuses on keeping divers safer and more effective during missions that demand extended time underwater.

Navy divers support a wide range of operations, including deep-ocean salvage, underwater rescue and recovery, and clearing explosive hazards. The DSEND effort is intended to expand those capabilities by limiting the need for decompression, when inert gas absorbed under pressure can form dangerous bubbles in the body as pressure decreases.

Development has included contributions from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, and Nuytco Research.

The Navy says DSEND is now in fleet-wide testing. An ONR-produced overview video is available at https://youtu.be/oUSe3HgfmDw, and a Navy report on open-water trials conducted by divers at NUWC Keyport can be found at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/568927/keyport-hosts-dsend-first-ever-open-water-evaluation.