UNDERSEA VEHICLES AND NATIONAL NEEDS -- Copyright -- Preface -- ORIGIN OF THE STUDY -- SCOPE OF THE STUDY -- STUDY METHODS AND REPORT ORGANIZATION -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Contents -- Executive Summary -- UNDERSEA VEHICLE CAPABILITIES AND TECHNOLOGIES -- Vehicle Subsystems -- Payload Subsystems -- Surface Support -- FOCUSING ON VITAL NATIONAL NEEDS -- SETTING DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES -- ENHANCING THE NATIONAL CAPACITY -- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS -- 1 Introduction -- UNDERSEA VEHICLES DEFINED -- Deep Submersible Vehicles -- Remotely Operated Vehicles -- Autonomous Underwater Vehicles -- EVOLUTION OF UNDERSEA VEHICLES SINCE THE 1950S -- Vehicle Development from the 1950s through the 1990s -- U.S. TRENDS IN UNDERSEA VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT AND USE -- FOREIGN PROGRAMS -- FINDINGS -- REFERENCES -- 2 Undersea Vehicle Capabilities and Technologies -- VEHICLE SYSTEMS -- DEEP SUBMERSIBLE VEHICLES -- REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES -- AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES -- OPERATIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF VEHICLE SYSTEMS -- EVALUATION OF THE STATE OF TECHNOLOGY -- Vehicle Subsystems -- Energy -- Propulsion -- Materials and Structures -- Navigation and Positioning -- Guidance and Control -- Data Processing -- Communications -- Payload Subsystems -- Work Systems -- Sensors -- Physical Samplers -- Surface and Shoreline Support -- Launch and Recovery -- SYSTEMS INTEGRATION -- TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FROM OTHER INDUSTRIES AND TECHNICAL FIELDS -- FINDINGS -- REFERENCES -- 3 Vital National Needs -- SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING AND APPLICATIONS -- Plate Tectonics -- Deep Ocean Trenches -- Spreading Centers or Midocean Ridges -- Transform Faults -- Geochemical Cycles -- Dynamics of the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Sea Ice -- Productivity of the Oceans -- Biotechnology and Biomedical Marine Research -- LIVING RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT -- Living Resources -- Marine Conservation.

Waste in the Ocean -- Monitoring Water Quality -- MARINE INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES -- Oil and Gas -- Marine Minerals -- Ocean Energy -- Salvage and Recovery -- Communications -- NATIONAL SECURITY, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND REGULATION -- Military Applications -- Enforcement of Laws and Regulations -- FINDINGS -- REFERENCES -- 4 Priorities for Future Development -- IMPORTANT NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES -- SETTING PRIORITIES FOR UNDERSEA VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT -- Summary of Potential Performance Improvements -- Development Projects to Support Undersea Vehicle Advances -- Identifying Development Priorities -- Results: Critical Subsystems with the Greatest Potential for Improving Vehicle Performance -- Results: Other Critical Subsystems with High Potential for Improving Vehicle Performance -- FINDINGS -- 5 Enhancing the Nation's Capacity for Undersea Work and Research -- NEED FOR A STRATEGIC APPROACH -- Mismatched Goals -- Planning without Central Control -- TRENDS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES -- Technology Development -- Deep Submersible Vehicles -- Remotely Operated Vehicles -- Autonomous Undersea Vehicles -- Policy Options and Technology Transfer -- Capital Investment -- Policy Options -- Access to Undersea Vehicles -- Policy Options -- FINDINGS -- REFERENCES -- 6 Conclusions and Recommendations -- CONCLUSIONS -- RECOMMENDATIONS -- APPENDICES -- APPENDIX A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members -- APPENDIX B Foreign Developments -- JAPAN -- RUSSIA AND UKRAINE -- FRANCE -- UNITED KINGDOM -- CANADA -- NORWAY -- REFERENCES -- APPENDIX C Development of Deep Submersible Vehicles in the United States: 1958-1994 -- APPENDIX D U.S. Government Agencies that Own and/or Use Submersibles -- APPENDIX E Deep Submersible Vehicles in Service or Available Worldwide -- Acronyms.