China and US Conduct Joint Submarine Rescue Drill
The joint submarine rescue exercise took place during Rim of the Pacific 2016 off the coast of Hawaii.
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By Franz-Stefan Gady
July 20, 2016
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and U.S. Navy conducted a joint submarine rescue drill on July 13 as part of the 2016 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise, held biennially in June and July of even numbered years in waters around the Hawaiian Islands and southern California.
The practical exercise involved the Dalao (Type 926)-class submarine rescue ship Changdao of the PLAN’s South Sea Fleet and U.S. Navy submariners who, aboard the Changdao, participated in launching a LR7 deep submergence rescue vehicle. According to a U.S. Pacific Command press release, Chinese and U.S. sailors successfully launched the rescue vehicle and conducted a successful mating with a faux-NATO rescue seat.
Deep submergence rescue vehicles are designed to rescue personnel from disabled submarines. They do so by attaching themselves to the hull of the submarine and land on a so-called rescue seat—the submarine’s escape/rescue trunk, through which crew members of the disabled boat can be evacuated.
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