711234451 - Procurement and Support of Self-Contained Air Diving Equipment (SCADE)

A replacement capability is required by Naval Military Diving (NMD), Army Military Diving (AMD), MAB Military Diving (MABMD) and the Defence Diving School (DDS) to deliver Defence diving outputs post the OSD of the existing capability in 2024.

Self-Contained Air Diving Equipment (SCADE) will be modernising our Open Circuit system improving surface demand capability to our core diving system. Self-Contained Air Diving Equipment (SCADE) will be an improvement on our current in-service Capability.

This requirement is for use in the World’s oceans, harbours and inland waterways in all climatic conditions. This project will deliver circa six hundred modular self-contained Compressed Natural Breathing Air diving systems to service Defence’s military diving demands, including training.

The ruggedized systems will be lightweight, compliant to UK safety standards, rapidly configurable and be minimal in form and function. They will accommodate the characteristics of human capabilities and when operated underwater the diver’s fluid dynamic profile will be as low as practicably possible. Allowing the diver, the ability to loiter on task, the system design will also offer both a permanent and contingent surface supply capability, as well as interoperability with in-water alternate air supply connections and charging.

To ensure relevance across their in-service lifespan, the systems will allow for coherent through-life upgrades, and they will be compatible with current diver through water communication systems (OTS MilCom 6000D) and the future procurement of commercially available telemetry monitoring and tracking systems and human interfaces. User maintenance equipment is required, as well as the means to protect each system or sub-system in transit.