Shadow Seal: New four-man submersible aimed at special forces missions

A four-man submersible that could deliver special forces personnel undetected to mission locations has been launched by defence company JFD.

Shadow Seal is lightweight and portable, electrically powered, and can travel 80 nautical miles on the surface or 25 nautical miles submerged.

The element of surprise can be the difference between success and failure, and JFD has designed it with that in mind.

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The company's Jessica Seymour told Forces News: "This is our first production model of the vehicle – it's being delivered to our partners in the US for training and demonstration purposes.

"It's brand new to our portfolio but we do have its sister vessel, which is an eight-man tactical diving vehicle, Carrier Seal, which has been in operation for six or seven years."

It takes its inspiration from Sleeping Beauty – a motorised submersible canoe developed by the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.

Advances in technology mean the modern craft can undertake more complex missions than the original.

It is still early days for Shadow Seal, but the company believes it fills a capability gap in covert coastal manoeuvres.