SSER ICD Validated.pdf

This document is an Initial Capabilities Document (ICD) for Submarine Search, Survivability, Escape, and Rescue (SSER) that defines capability requirements and identifies gaps in the U.S. Navy's submarine rescue enterprise.

The ICD, sponsored by OPNAV N97 and submitted on 2 September 2025, establishes requirements derived from a Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Submarine Rescue Capability Study completed in August 2016. The primary joint capability area is Force Support, with supporting areas including Logistics, Command and Control, Building Partnerships, and Exportability. The document identifies four operational phases for submarine rescue: Phase I (search and localization), Phase II (investigation and assessment), Phase III (stabilization and life support), and Phase IV (rescue via escape or direct personnel transfer). Key capability requirements include: submarines transmitting position data to search and rescue assets without manual crew activation; real-time underwater communication independent of submarine power; ability to search ocean floors at maximum U.S. submarine depths in rescuable waters worldwide; Submarine Rescue System assets delivering life support for 155 personnel for up to 72 hours; Time to First Rescue (TTFR) achievement within survivability timelines; air-deployable rescue systems on commercial or military aircraft (C-17 or smaller); and hyperbaric treatment capability for decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism. Initial Operational Capability is anticipated no earlier than 2032, with Full Operational Capability expected by 2040. The document addresses cyber survivability risks as CSRC-1 (low risk), electromagnetic spectrum risks as Medium, and incorporates DOTmLPF-P change recommendations expected within six months of ICD validation. Table 1 details eleven specific capability requirements with gaps, overlaps, and current performance assessments across search localization, survivability, rescue operations, and training domains.