New Technology to Revolutionize Combat Divers Operations

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Military combat divers often conduct underwater missions in hazardous and zero visibility conditions. Critical to mission success is having accurate underwater compass and depth readings to assist with navigation while minimiזing the risk of detection.

Current handheld or tactical swim board mounted compasses, depth gauges, and chronometers are obsolete in a zero-visibility environment. Traditional compasses can be virtually useless in these conditions even with auxiliary illumination.

Developed by JFD in collaboration with the US Military, an advanced combat diver navigation module called Shadow NAV provides a practical solution for divers operating in low visibility conditions, ensuring that the divers have continual visibility of accurate information. The technology could also be offered to the commercial diving industry.

The US Naval Surface Warfare Center – Panama City Division (NSWC PCD), teamed with JFD to develop the device that brings a hands-free underwater navigation capability.

How does it work? The system is fitted to a diver’s standard half mask and provides a clear visual display of a combat diver’s compass heading, depth, and time even in near-zero visibility conditions. Through using a mask-mounted head-up display, combat divers are not restricted by the poor visibility mission environment and may not require carrying a tactical swim board, according to navaltoday.com.

“Traditional kit such as the compass and depth gauges not only increases the amount of equipment required, but, more critically, they are of little, or no use in water with very limited visibility, even with auxiliary illumination. This puts the diver at too great a risk of injury or even fatality,” Danny Gray, products & support director at JFD, commented. “To address these challenges for potentially dangerous underwater combat missions, the Navy expert technical team worked to develop a small, low-cost, low-power enhanced navigation capability to significantly improve safety standards for military divers and give them the best possible chance of successfully completing their missions.”