A patent was filed in 1990, but the first boat, now known as the Alligator-class, was not produced until the mid-1990s. After testing with the US military, the Alligator was handed over to the Israeli military. Illustrations from 1993 patents (US patent 5215025 assigned to K10 Corporation)
These boats are similar in concept to the North Korean SILC boats. But in comparison with the well-known SILC, they are about twice as large. Unlike later North Korean I-SILCs, they are not fully submersible.
Alligator-class
Displacement: 23.4 tons
Max speed: 30kts (8 submerged)
Length: 19.81m, width 3.96m
The rear cockpit is removable and the boat is often portrayed with a large crew, altering its overall appearance.
SEALION was originally proposed as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) in the spring of 2000.
SEALION is a technology demonstrator project led by NAVSEA and the Design Group's surface ships (SEA 05D1). SEALION II is currently operated by the Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG Team 4) at the Naval Base in Little Creek, Virginia. He was taken to Little Creek in January 2003.
SEALION II was developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), and was built at Oregon Iron Works Azimuth Inc. Morgantown, West Virginia.
This is a multi-purpose, high-speed, stealth boat designed for a variety of missions.
In many ways, it is similar to the Alligator boat that found its way into the Israeli army, and the Mark V, the boat currently used for such missions in the US Navy.
There are, however, significant differences. Both the alligator and the Mark V have open decks at the stern, while the SEALION is completely closed, which serves as a shelter for the crew and passengers from bad weather or enemy fire. It also allows passengers to navigate the boat unnoticed by prying eyes.
The SEALION's hull is made of aluminum alloys, weighs approximately 72,000 pounds, is 71 feet long - 11 feet shorter than the Mark V, allowing SEALION to transport it in a C-17 Globemaster. The Mark V requires a C-5 Galaxy, which is larger and needs a larger runway to take off.
The Navy has 20 Mark Vs (as of 2004), which are divided into 10 squads. Each squad consists of two ships. The squad can be delivered quickly by two C-5 Galaxy or surface ships. Each squad can deploy within as little as 48 hours of notification and be ready for operation within 24 hours of arriving at a forward operating base.
Each of them (Mark V) can carry up to 16 passengers, including a team of five people, consisting of the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC).
The boat Mark V began to enter service in 1995, the gradual decommissioning of which began in 2008.
SEALION, however, is not a potential replacement for Mark. There is no comparison between the two. SEALION is a demonstration of technologies that can be helpful in creating a replacement for the Mark V.
On SEALION (for 2004), including measures to reduce the percentage of injuries, which is not uncommon when a boat travels at a speed of more than 40 knots, on the Mark V this indicator reaches 25 percent.
The decrease in the percentage of injuries is also due to the improvement in seaworthiness compared to the Mark V
Officials also declined to discuss the sea lion's engines, but they noted that it is capable of speeds comparable to the Mark V.
In December 2003, the US Navy signed a $ 6,000,000 contract for the second version of the SEALION.
SEALION, however, may soon (for 2004) get some competition. The Office of Naval Research awarded $ 2.36 million in grants to the University of Maine's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center to create the successor to the Mark V-Mark 6.
