NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) MOD 45152366

The NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) is a tri-national project to develop an international

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

rescue system. The system provides a rescue capability primarily to the partner nations of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, but also to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

and allied nations and to any submarine equipped with a suitable mating surface around its hatches. NSRS was designed and manufactured by Forum Subsea Technologies (formerly Perry Slingsby Systems). The NSRS entered service in 2008, replacing the UK's previous rescue system, the LR5. The complete system is fully air transportable in a variety of suitable aircraft ( C17/ C5/ An124/

A400M The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabi ...

). It is capable of launch and recovery in a significant wave height of up to 5meters (

sea state In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and Swell (ocean), swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the ...

6) and can reach any distressed submarine (DISSUB) in 72-96 hours from the alert, dependent upon location. It has limited capability in ice-covered seas. On receipt of a 'SUBSUNK' alert that a submarine is in difficulties, the submarine operator will initiate the NSRS call-out procedure. The intervention system, which is centered upon an off-the-shelf

remotely operated vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''. Definition This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the a ...

(ROV) will mobilise to the scene about 24 hours in advance of the full rescue system. Once on-site it will locate the distressed submarine (DISSUB), establish communications, conduct damage assessment and prepare the DISSUB for rescue operations. The Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) along with a portable launch and recovery system (PLARS), support and operating equipment and the

hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...

treatment complex (known as the Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) equipment) will arrive approximately 24 hours later. All equipment and personnel will be flown to the mobilisation port for embarkation on a suitable mother ship. The embarkation will take less than 18 hours and the mother ship will then sail to the scene where the SRV will be launched. The aim is to achieve time-to-first-rescue of 72 hours, with personnel being brought to the surface in groups of 12, and transferring them to the NSRS hyperbaric treatment facility if necessary. The NSRS is based at HM Naval Base Clyde in the UK.

Intervention System and the Intervention Remotely Operated Vehicle (IROV)

The Intervention system comprises the ROV, the launch and recovery system and the control module. The vehicle is based on the PSSL Triton SP ROV which is in widespread commercial use and is fitted with variable vectored thrusting. It is capable of operating in depths of 1000m and is very mobile and compact. It can carry a variety of tools to assist in removing debris and delivering emergency life support stores (ELSS) to the survivors through the escape/rescue hatch, in watertight pods, known as pod-posting.

Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV)

The SRV is a manned

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of i ...

and was developed from previous rescue vehicles, notably LR5, developed and built by Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd in North Yorkshire. It is 10m long, weighs 30

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s and has an all-

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

(NQ1), single piece

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. The craft is operated by a three-man crew (two pilots and a rescue chamber operator). It can operate at depths down to 610m and can mate with the rescue hatch seal at angles of up to 60 degrees in any direction. It also uses high-temperature batteries, of "Zebra" type. These enable it to stay submerged for up to 96 hours. Propulsion is provided by two 25 kW units, with a further four smaller units being used for positioning. It is the latest generation of rescue vehicle and has diverless recovery,

fibre-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

data communications and a self-contained breathing system developed by Divex (now part of James Fisher Defence). Delivery of the complete system was achieved by October 2007. Trials and development of improved operating practices were completed in time for Exercise Bold Monarch in May 2008. Full operational capability was attained in March 2011. NSRS has operated from numerous mother ships and exercised to bottomed

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...

submarines of NATO nations as well as those of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. In 2013 NSRS achieved a first by conducting a full rescue cycle with the

nuclear attack submarine An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...

HMS Astute, which was suspended mid-water below large mooring

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of y ...

s. This success was repeated in April 2015 in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

to the French nuclear submarine Rubis.

Portable Launch and Recovery System (PLARS)

The PLARS comprises a combined SRV catcher and stabilisation system and is designed for operation in high sea states (up to sea state 6). The system is air transportable in

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...

and the

. It uses a constant tension winch system for maintaining hawse tension in a wide range of sea states.

Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) System

The TUP system is a fully autonomous and air transportable hyperbaric treatment facility that provides full decompression and medical support for up to 72 personnel simultaneously from 6

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

to ambient pressure. It comprises a reception chamber, two

decompression chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply o ...

s and a central control position with full

life-support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

and environmental control in conditions from -30

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

to +60°C. Built and put into service by

Rolls-Royce Holdings Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

the NSRS will transferred to James Fisher Defence in July 2015.

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